Tests of Graphic Visuals and Cigarette Package Warning Combinations: Implications for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

The World Health Organization recently adopted the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a groundbreaking public health treaty that will require that warning information in the form of text, pictures, or a combination of these two forms cover at least 30% of the front and back of cigarette packages. In three studies using smokers from the United States and Canada, the authors examine the effects of specific graphic visuals in the context of current U.S. verbal warnings. The findings indicate that including both graphic visual warnings, such as those used in Canada, and warning statements currently used in the United States can decrease the perceived attractiveness of the package and create higher levels of negative affect, such as fear or anxiety. The results also show that the addition of the specific visual warnings examined to the U.S. statements increases smokers’ perceived intentions of quitting smoking compared with warning statements alone. The authors offer implications for public policy and public health and provide suggestions for further research

Understanding How Graphic Pictorial Warnings Work on Cigarette Packaging

The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act requires cigarette packages to contain stronger warnings in the form of color, graphic pictures depicting the negative health consequences of smoking. The authors present results from a between-subjects experiment with more than 500 smokers that test (1) the effectiveness of pictorial warnings that vary in their graphic depiction of the warning and (2) an underlying mechanism proposed to drive potential effects of the manipulation of the graphic depiction. The findings indicate that more graphic pictorial warning depictions strengthen smokers’ intentions to quit smoking. Recall of warning message statements is reduced by moderately or highly graphic pictures compared with a no picture control or less graphic pictures. The results also show that the graphic warnings affect evoked fear, and in turn, fear mediates the effects of the graphic warning depiction on intentions to quit for the sample of smokers. This pattern of results indicates that though ighly graphic pictures may reduce specific message recall and limit the direct effect of recall on intentions to quit, highly graphic pictures increase intentions to quit smoking through evoked fear (i.e., fear fully mediates the effect of the graphic depiction level). The authors discuss implications for consumer health and policy decisions

The streptococcal collagen-like protein-1 (Scl1) is a multifunctional adhesin in extracellular matrix interactions, biofilm formation, and host colonization by group A Streptococcus

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is responsible for over 100 million skin infections annually that may lead to invasive episodes and autoimmune sequelaes. Wounds and unapparent skin infringements are susceptible to the introduction of GAS and serve as a portal of entry. The nutritional nature of a wound and the accessibility to exposed host cell surfaces and extracellular matrix components create a model milieu for successful host colonization and potential biofilm formation. The initiation of biofilm is often mediated by bacterial surface adhesins and has been shown to interfere with wound healing by blocking critical host cellular interactions. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms supporting this impediment of wound healing are not completely understood. Here, we characterize the GAS surface adhesin, streptococcal collagen-like protein-1 (Scl1), and its interaction with extracellular matrix components and contribution to GAS biofilm formation. Scl1 has been detected in all GAS strains and extends from the GAS surface as a homotrimeric protein composed of a collagen-like domain, structurally similar to mammalian collagen, and an adjacent amino-terminal non-collagenous variable domain. The current work (i) identifies that the Scl1 variable domain binds to extracellular matrix proteins, cellular fibronectin and laminin and contributes to GAS adherence and internalization (ii) demonstrates that the Scl1 protein is an important determinant of GAS biofilm formation on untreated and ECM-deposited surfaces, and (iii) characterizes a novel molecular mechanism by which GAS utilizes the Scl1 protein to specifically target the EDA-containing variant of cellular fibronectin predominantly expressed at the site of injured tissue in order to secure host colonization and biofilm formation. In total, these studies further demonstrate the importance of the Scl1 protein in GAS pathogenesis

The streptococcal collagen-like protein-1 (Scl1) is a significant determinant for biofilm formation by group a Streptococcus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Group A <it>Streptococcus </it>(GAS) is a human-specific pathogen responsible for a number of diseases characterized by a wide range of clinical manifestations. During host colonization GAS-cell aggregates or microcolonies are observed in tissues. GAS biofilm, which is an <it>in vitro </it>equivalent of tissue microcolony, has only recently been studied and little is known about the specific surface determinants that aid biofilm formation. In this study, we demonstrate that surface-associated streptococcal collagen-like protein-1 (Scl1) plays an important role in GAS biofilm formation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Biofilm formation by M1-, M3-, M28-, and M41-type GAS strains, representing an intraspecies breadth, were analyzed spectrophotometrically following crystal violet staining, and characterized using confocal and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The M41-type strain formed the most robust biofilm under static conditions, followed by M28- and M1-type strains, while the M3-type strains analyzed here did not form biofilm under the same experimental conditions. Differences in architecture and cell-surface morphology were observed in biofilms formed by the M1- and M41-wild-type strains, accompanied by varying amounts of deposited extracellular matrix and differences in cell-to-cell junctions within each biofilm. Importantly, all Scl1-negative mutants examined showed significantly decreased ability to form biofilm <it>in vitro</it>. Furthermore, the Scl1 protein expressed on the surface of a heterologous host, <it>Lactococcus lactis</it>, was sufficient to induce biofilm formation by this organism.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Overall, this work (i) identifies variations in biofilm formation capacity among pathogenically different GAS strains, (ii) identifies GAS surface properties that may aid in biofilm stability and, (iii) establishes that the Scl1 surface protein is an important determinant of GAS biofilm, which is sufficient to enable biofilm formation in the heterologous host <it>Lactococcus</it>. In summary, the GAS surface adhesin Scl1 may have an important role in biofilm-associated pathogenicity.</p

‘Nudging’ as an architect of more responsible consumer choice in food service provision: The role of restaurant menu design

The sector of food service provision generates substantial environmental and societal impacts. Environmental impacts are particularly pronounced in terms of carbon footprint build-up while societal impacts are reflected in often unhealthy food choice. These impacts should be minimised to facilitate progress of the sector towards sustainability. A significant share of the negative impacts from food service provision is attributed to irresponsible consumer choice which needs to be architected and made more society- and climate-benign. Customer ‘nudging’ is an effective tool of consumer choice architecture and yet little research has examined its application within the context of private food service provision. This study set to better understand the determinants of consumer choice when dining out and how consumer choice could be reinforced to make it more beneficial from the sustainability viewpoint. To this end, the study reported on the outcome of a consumer survey conducted among visitors to a UK casual dining restaurant where menu design was employed as a customer ‘nudging’ tool. The survey demonstrated that, next to price, food provenance and nutritional value determined consumer choice when dining out. This information should therefore be displayed on restaurant menus to enable educated, and more environment- and society-benign, food choice. While presenting the food carbon values on a menu was well perceived, some skepticism attached to their prospective use as a determinant of consumer choice was recorded. Recommendations were made on the design of the industry and policy-making interventions required to enhance the public appeal of this menu item

Front-of-pack images can boost the perceived health benefits of dietary products

Images on dietary supplement packaging can help identify the products' supposed function. However, research shows that these images can also lead people to infer additional health benefits of consuming the products. The present research investigated the extent to which front-of-pack imagery affects people's perceptions of the health risks and benefits of fictional products. In three randomized experiments, participants saw fictitious dietary supplement packages. Some of the packages included a health-related image (e.g. a heart), whereas others did not. Participants were asked to infer the products' intended purpose and then to rate the perceived risks and benefits of consuming the product. In Experiment 1 (N = 546), the inclusion of a health-related image increased the perceived benefits of consuming the product, with minimal effect on the perceived risks. This finding was replicated in Experiment 2 (N = 164), but was contingent on whether each product's assumed health function was confirmed or disconfirmed. In Experiment 3 (N = 306), which used a pre-registered design and analysis plan, the inclusion of a health-related image increased the perceived benefits and decreased the perceived risks of consuming the product. Again, these effects were contingent on whether the assumed health functions were confirmed or disconfirmed. These findings indicate that health-related imagery could lead consumers to infer additional health properties from non-diagnostic information featured on a product's packaging, perhaps as a consequence of increased processing fluency. This research underscores the importance of regulating the use of imagery in health marketing, to protect consumers from the effects of potentially misleading claims