Cigarette pack warnings that remind smokers of the fatal consequences of their habit may actually make them smoke more as a way to cope with the inevitability of death, according to researchers.

    A small study by psychologists from the United States, Switzerland and Germany showed that warnings unrelated to death, such as "smoking makes you unattractive" or "smoking brings you and the people around you severe damage," were more effective in changing smokers' attitudes toward their habit.

    This was especially the case in people who smoked to boost their self-esteem, such as youth who took up the habit to impress or fit in with their peers and others who thought smoking increased their social value, the researchers said.

    "In general, when smokers are faced with death-related anti-smoking messages on cigarette packs, they produce active coping attempts as reflected in their willingness to continue the risky smoking behavior," the study said.

    "To succeed with anti-smoking messages on cigarette packs one has to take into account that considering their death may make people smoke."

    The study was based on 39 psychology students, aged between 17 and 41, who said they were smokers.

    Participants filled in a questionnaire to determine how much their smoking was based on self-esteem, were then shown cigarette packs with different warnings on them, and then after a 15-minute delay, the students were asked more questions about their smoking behavior that included if they intended to quit.

    "On the one hand, death-related warnings were not effective and even ironically caused more positive smoking attitudes among smokers who based their self-esteem on smoking," the study said.

    "On the other hand, warning messages that were unrelated to death effectively reduced smoking attitudes the more recipients based their self-esteem on smoking."

    The researchers said this finding can be explained by the fact that warnings such as "smoking makes you unattractive" may be particularly threatening to people who believe that smoking makes them feel valued by others or boosts their self-image.

    The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

    研究人員日前稱，香煙包裝上提醒吸煙危害生命的警示信息其實會讓煙民吸得更多，因為死亡在所難免。

    來自美國、瑞士和德國的心理學家開展的一項小規模研究表明，一些不觸及死亡字眼的警示語，如"吸煙讓人失去魅力"或"吸煙給你和周圍的人帶來嚴重傷害"等對改變煙民在吸煙問題上的態度更為有效。

    研究人員稱，這在借助吸煙來提升自尊的人群中尤為明顯。例如，有些年輕人吸煙是為了引人注意，或者使自己更合群，還有些人認為吸煙可以提升自身的社會價值。

    研究稱："總體來看，當煙民看到香煙包裝上的觸及死亡的警示信息時，他們反而會采取積極的應對舉動，具體表現為繼續這種危險行為。"

    "要使香煙包裝的警示信息起作用，必須意識到，讓煙民想到死亡的信息反而會促使他們吸得更兇。"

    該研究共對39位年齡在17歲至41歲之間的心理系學生進行了調查，受訪者均自稱為煙民。

    研究人員讓受訪者填寫調查問卷，以確定他們的吸煙行為在多大程度上是為了增強自尊。研究人員隨后向他們展示了貼有不同警示的香煙包裝，并在15分鐘后詢問他們更多有關吸煙行為的問題，包括他們是否打算戒煙。

    研究稱："一方面，危害生命的警示沒什么效果，而且諷刺的是，它甚至讓那些為自尊而吸煙的煙民對吸煙的態度更為積極了。"

    "另一方面，不觸及死亡的警示卻能有效地減輕吸煙欲望，因為更多煙民吸煙是為了提升自尊。"

    研究人員表示，類似"吸煙讓人失去魅力"這樣的警示對那些認為吸煙讓自己感覺受到重視，或提升自我形象的煙民來說尤其具有威脅性，這可以用來解釋上述研究成果。

    該研究在《實驗社會心理學》期刊上發表。