Do Side-Effect Warnings Make You Feel Safe?

Practically every type of medication on the market today comes with a warning label. While the FDA requires many of the warnings to be listed on the packaging, drug manufacturers hope that these warnings improve customer’s confidence in their product rather than deter them from purchasing it. A set of researchers recently performed a study to determine how consumers react to these dire warning labels and to see if the warnings stopped them from purchasing the product.

The Study: Whether Side Effect Warnings Impacted a Purchase

This was a joint study performed by Tel Aviv University, New York University, and Singapore-based INSEAD School. The study tracked consumers purchasing habits. There were four types of medications and products used during this study:

• Cigarettes
• Hair loss medication
• Artificial sweetener
• Drugs for erectile dysfunction

In some cases, the participants were provided with the list of side effects that were associated with the medication or product and were then instantly given the opportunity to purchase the products. In other cases, the participants were given or told the list of side effects of a medication or products and then had a few days to think about whether or not they would like the product.

The Results of the Study

The results were published in the Psychological Science journal compiled by the Association of Psychological Science. The study showed that the participants who were provided with the list of side effect warnings, right before having the option to purchase the product, were more hesitant to buy it. However, participants who had a delay before they needed to make a decision about purchasing the products were more likely to buy the product.

A lead researcher in this study, Ziv Cameron from INSEAD, stated that “the warnings backfired because the psychological distance created by the delay between exposure to the ad and the customer decision made the side effects seem abstract—participants came to see the warning as an indication of the firm’s honesty and trustworthiness.”

You may not think this is a small matter, but researchers consider this a crucial health issue. Consumers literally did not consider the list of dangerous side effects bad enough to prevent them from using the product. This may be just the news that the drug manufacturers were hoping for, but the health industry may not be so happy. A push for doctors to provide patients with more information about potential side effects may be helpful. Most professionals in the medical field advise all of the patients to completely read the list of side effects before taking any medication or using products regulated by the FDA.

Do side effect warnings impact whether you make a purchase? Let us know in the comment box below.