Reactions of adult smokers and former smokers to current US warning labels.

Objective: To assess current and former smokers' reactions to US warning labels as a baseline for comparison to new labels.

Methods: The mail-in Consumer-Styles survey was sent to a representative sample of US adult consumers in 2010 (N = 10,328).

Results: Among current smokers, 51.5% (95% CI: 47.5-55.5) reported that they had 'never/rarely' seen or looked closely at the labels in the past 30 days. Current smokers (91.1%) reported that warning labels never stopped them from having a cigarette (95% CI: 89.1-93.1) and that the labels had no effect on their likelihood of quitting (75.5%; 95% CI: 71.6-79.4).

Conclusions: Current warning labels do not make smokers think about the risks of smoking or have an effect on their likelihood of forgoing cigarettes or quitting.