Biomedical subjects
N Schutte
Publications and source records attributed to N Schutte.
Important characteristics of warning displays on alcohol containers.
Four studies examined the federally mandated warning on alcohol containers, which is required by law to be "located in a conspicuous and prominent place." In all four studies few of the drinkers could recall the main parts of the warnings, even though the warning had been required on all alcohol containers for over two years. In Study 1, 44 adults looked at the warning on various beer containers and 77% thought that the warning was not conspicuous but could be made conspicuous through various changes, such as by printing the warning horizontally (parallel to the brand name) rather than vertically. In Study 2, 50 adults looked at the warning placed horizontally on one beer can and vertically on a similar can and rated the horizontal warning significantly more conspicuous. In Study 3, 44 adults spent several minutes in a simulated drinking atmosphere. Half the subjects had beer cans with a horizontal warning and half had a vertical warning. The subjects with the horizontal warning later showed significantly better awareness/recall of the warning. In Study 4, with 75 adult subjects in a bar, the half of the subjects prompted to notice the alcohol warning drank less thereafter in the bar than the other subjects. The findings of the series of studies suggest that the conspicuousness of health warnings on alcohol containers tends to influence their possible effectiveness.
Preventing smoking: evaluating the potential effectiveness of cigarette warnings.
We examined the potential effectiveness of U.S. government cigarette warnings in preventing adolescent smoking. In Study 1, 112 seventh graders rated the effectiveness of four currently required warnings and four possible other warnings and answered questions about the meaning of certain words in the warnings. In Study 2, 115 seventh graders attempted to recall the four current warnings; in Study 3, 103 eighth and ninth graders read all eight warnings one day and tried to recall them the next day. In Study 4, 25 seventh graders participated in a focus session in which they discussed the effectiveness of each of the eight warnings. The results of the studies showed that the four different evaluation strategies had convergent validity and that two current warnings and two proposed warnings are significantly more potentially effective than the other two current warnings. Our results also provided information about why some warnings are more potentially effective than others.
Readability of health warnings on alcohol and tobacco products.
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