A research paper by the Democracy Institute finds that graphic health warnings on tobacco products are ineffective, can be counterproductive and undermine core democratic values.

In their paper "Health warnings on consumer products: Why scarier is not better", Dr. Patrick Basham and Dr. John C. Luik, of the Democracy Institute, argue that graphic health warnings are not grounded in social psychological principles and are not supported by scientific evidence.
Moreover, they assert that graphic warnings "are fundamentally at odds with three core democratic values: autonomy, respect, and freedom of expression".
The paper is published by the Legal Studies Division of the Washington Legal Foundation. The division was established its to address "cutting-edge legal issues". (pi)