Must Read: New Study Finds That Smokers' Memories Could Help Them Quit!

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A new study by researchers at Michigan State University suggests that instead of inciting fear of the potential harm caused by tobacco, anti-smoking campaigns should tap into smokers' memories and tug at their heartstrings.

The researchers, Ali Hussain, a doctoral candidate in the School of Journalism and Maria Lapinski, professor in the Department of Communication argued that advertisers often use nostalgia-evoking messages to promote consumer products. They stated that this tactic could also be effective in encouraging healthy behaviors. Most of the messages intended to discourage smoking are centered around fear, disgust and guilt.

"But smokers often don't buy the messages and instead feel bad about themselves and the person who is trying to scare them," Hussain said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have previously noted that cigarette smoking is the major cause of preventable disease in the United States.

The CDC added that it accounts for one in every five deaths in America. However, it is believed that that rate of smoking have dramatically declined, even if 15 in every 100 adults were active smokers in 2015. The researchers also believe that despite the health risks, a key hurdle for health communicators is rejection and avoidance of messages, according to Science Daily.

They conducted the current study on smokers with the hope of finding a solution to the current situation. The study was conducted on smokers who were between the age of 18 and 39. The researchers then exposed some of them to a nostalgic public service announcement that was created by Hussain created and others to a control message.

The researchers discovered that participants who viewed the public service announcement displayed greater nostalgic emotions and also reported stronger negative attitudes toward smoking, particularly women. The researchers started with images of participant' childhood memories with the public service announcement script comprising of phrases like, "I remember when I was a boy" and "I miss the simplicity of life, being outside on a warm summer night."

The script made references to familiar tastes and smells from past days and concludes with the narrator remembering when someone introduced him to cigarettes and a call to action. The researchers believed that this technique worked because, nostalgia-themed public service announcement display smokers most cherished and personal memories, which makes them feel more engaged.

They believe that this is the major reason why nostalgic thinking influences attitudes and behaviors. They also noted that the study, which is the first of its kind based on their knowledge, shows a promising result for using nostalgic messages to promote pro-social behaviors, according to Medical Express.

The researchers added that it is clear that policy and environmental changes also have a substantial influence on smoking and that the current study suggests that persuasive messages can influence smoking attitudes. They published the findings of the study in Communication Research Reports.

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