Exploring Reactions to Health Warnings on Waterpipe Tobacco Ads

Emotional Reactions to Ads

Time Frame: up to 45 minutes

Participants rated on 7-point bipolar scales the extent each ad made them feel not at all anxious/very anxious, not at all worried/very worried, not at all fearful/very fearful and good /bad. Reported as a composite score created by averaging the items. Mean scores range from 1 to 7 where higher mean values represent more negative emotional reactions to viewing the ad.

Attitudes Toward Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking (WTS) as Measured by Questionnaire

Time Frame: up to 45 minutes

Participant rated on 9-point bipolar scale an ad's portrayal of WTS. The five attributes that tapped cognitions were: safe/unsafe, healthy/unhealthy, useful/useless, harmful/beneficial, and wise/foolish. The five attributes that captured affect were: pleasant/unpleasant, nice/nasty, enjoyable/not enjoyable, satisfying/unsatisfying, gratifying/revolting. Reported as a composite score created by averaging the items. The mean scores could range from 1 to 7 where a higher mean score reflects a more negative attitude towards WTS.

Reactance to Ads

Time Frame: up to 45 minutes

Two items from the University of North Carolina (UNC) short reactance scale were asked from 1=strongly disagree to 7=strongly agree: "This ad is trying to manipulate me", and "This ad annoys me." Reported as a composite score created by averaging the items. Mean scores can range from 1 to 7. A higher mean score reflect higher reactance, meaning that participants felt more reactance (e.g., felt their freedoms were being taken away).

Perceived Effectiveness of Health Warnings

Time Frame: up to 45 minutes

Participants used a three-item measure as a gestalt assessment of how well an ad dissuaded WTS. The three items, rated from 1=strongly disagree to 7=strongly agree were: "This ad discourages me from wanting to smoke waterpipe tobacco", "This ad makes me concerned about the health effects of smoking waterpipe tobacco", and "This ad makes smoking waterpipe tobacco seem unpleasant to me". Reported as a composite score created by averaging the items. The mean score could ranged from 1 to 7. A higher mean score reflects that the ad was more effective at dissuading WTS.

Ad Effect on Desire to Smoke

Time Frame: up to 45 minutes

Participants were asked, "To what extent did this ad affect your desire to smoke waterpipe tobacco?" from 1=Reduced my desire a lot to 7=Increased my desire a lot. Mean scores could range from 1 to 7. A higher mean score reflects that the ad increased a participant's desire to smoke waterpipe tobacco.

Ad Effect on Event Participation

Time Frame: up to 45 minutes

Participants who completed the social allure study were asked, "If the activities in the ad were to take place in a location near you, how likely are you to participate in those activities?". Response options were: 1=No chance, 2=Very unlikely, 3=Unlikely, 4=Moderately likely, 5=Likely, 6=Very Likely, and 7=Certain to happen. Mean scores could range from 1 to 7. A higher mean score reflects a higher probability that the participant would participate in the event depicted in the ad.

Ad Effect on Product Purchase

Time Frame: up to 45 minutes

Participants who completed the social allure study were asked, "How likely are you to buy the product in the ad?". Response options were: 1=No chance, 2=Very unlikely, 3=Unlikely, 4=Moderately likely, 5=Likely, 6=Very Likely, and 7=Certain to happen. Means scores could range from 1 to 7. A higher mean score reflects that the study participant would have a higher probability of purchasing the product depicted in the ad.