SUMMER 2009 VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2 332 LALLA ILHAME SABBANE, TINA M. LOWREY, AND JEAN-CHARLES CHEBAT The Effectiveness of Cigarette Warning Label Threats on Nonsmoking Adolescents This experiment investigated three levels of threat in cigarette warn- ing labels: no warning/text warning only/text + graphic warning. Teenagers in Canada and the US were exposed to one of these labels in a web-surfing environment. Participants surfed a website sponsored by a familiar cigarette brand or an unfamiliar cigarette brand. After surfing, three dependent measures were assessed: brand attitude, web- site attitude, and smoking intent. Results indicated that the graphic label was the most effective for Canadian participants, leading to neg- ative attitudes and lower smoking intentions, but the graphic label was least effective at lowering smoking intentions for US participants. Despite the efforts of many health organizations in the United States and Canada, smoking among adolescents continues to be a major health problem in both countries that has consequences for future smoking behavior. For example, in the US, 90% of adult smokers began smoking before the age of 21 (American Lung Association 2008) and in Canada, 85% of adult smokers began smoking before the age of 19 (Health Canada 2008). In the US, 20% of seniors in high school, 12% of 10th graders, and almost 6% of 8th graders smoke daily (American Lung Association 2008). In Canada, 20% of teenagers aged 15–19 become adult smokers (Health Canada 2004). These statistics emphasize the importance of messages, including cigarette warning labels, targeted in part at nonsmoking adolescents in an effort to reduce the numbers of those who pick up the habit. The US and Canada have taken different approaches to the types of warning labels mandated for cigarette packaging. In the US, warning Lalla Ilhame Sabbane is a former student at HEC Montreal, Quebec. Tina M. Lowrey is a profes- sor of marketing, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio (tina.lowrey@utsa.edu). Jean-Charles Chebat is ECSC Chair of Marketing at HEC Montreal and affiliate professor at Reims Management School, France (jean-charles.chebat@hec.ca). The authors would like to acknowledge financial assistance from HEC Montreal, Rider University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and the Social Science and Human Research Council. The authors would also like to thank Martha Fasci for assistance in gaining access to San Antonio schools, Julie Colin and David McKenna for their assistance with data collection, and L. J. Shrum for comments on an earlier draft. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, Vol. 43, No. 2, 2009 ISSN 0022-0078 Copyright 2009 by The American Council on Consumer Interests