86 Percent of Kids from China Know Cigarette Labels

Despite countless studies showing how dangerous smoking can be, recent research shows that several other factors might influence a child's smoking risk and whether he or she will pick up the dangerous habit.

As many tobacco companies continue to market their packaging with colorful designs and logos that appeal to a wide variety of audiences, researchers of the study found that nearly nine in 10 children from China can accurately identify cigarette logos that are commonly branded on tobacco products.

The researchers were interested in looking at the cigarette brand knowledge of five- and six- year old children, focusing on the research of five nations that have the highest smoking rates, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Researchers looked at five countries including China, India, Nigeria, Pakistan and Russia, designing a match game in which children were asked to connect a logo to the correct picture. They were then shown cigarette logos, such as Marlboro and Camel along with local brands from each respective country.

The study authors found that 68 percent of the children in the experiment, or 2,423 children, could correctly pair at least one cigarette logo to the picture of the product. The highest rates of matches were seen from children in China. In fact, 86 percent of them could accurately identify at least one cigarette logo. The lowest rates were in Russia where only half of the children were able to identify at least one cigarette brand.

Over 25 percent of the children in general were able to name two to three brands, and 18 percent recognized four or more cigarette brands, according to the study. When the children were asked about whether or not they wanted to smoke in the future, about 30 percent of the kids said they planned on being adult smokers.

The researchers thus believe that in order to prevent younger generations from making the wrong decisions with regards to their health, it's important to implement educational programs and campaigns regarding the harmful effects of smoking in low and middle-income countries.

More information regarding this study can be found via the journal Pediatrics.