Investigation of Effective Image for Quitting Smoking Based on Brain Activity

Abstract

The damage to health by the smoking is thought to be a severe problem. So the messages or images that show the risk with the smoking are printed on the packages of cigarette all over the world. The package design called “plain package” was defined by the law in order to reduce the consumption of the cigarette in Australia in 2012. Making the image for quitting smoking which has a certain effect is important to promoting healthy society. In this study, we investigated the effect of quitting smoking of plain package and conventional package based on brain activity. Results showed conventional package activated the orbitofrontal cortex which relate to the smoking desire. On the other hand, plain package activated the primary somatic sensation field related the sense of pain recognition. This result shows the possibility that plain package strongly reminded subjects of a risk of continuing smoking.