From corpses to cancerous lesions to a man smoking a discount cigarette while sporting a tracheotomy tube, 36 proposed new warning labels for cigarettes are eye-catching but may not be life-altering - say psychology and anti-tobacco advocacy experts and longtime smokers.

The federal Food and Drug Administration has proposed the first major change to labels in 25 years, with the warnings expected to shift from a line or two of text to graphic photos and drawings depicting the health risks of smoking. The new warnings, which will be narrowed to nine different images and should be in place next October, would also be required to take up at least 50 percent of a pack of cigarettes.

"These types of messages - fear - do work, but only under certain conditions," said Mark Sibicky, professor of psychology at Marietta College. "These graphic pictures are not going to be very effective for adult smokers. It may help for some, but the majority of long-term smokers are not going to be impacted."

Bobbie Raper, 43, of Marietta, said she's one of those likely to continue smoking when the labels change, although that doesn't mean she's not bothered by the images.

After seeing them on the news recently, she was left angry and questioning whether such warnings were needed for a product already commonly referred to as "cancer sticks."

"I know the risks, I think all smokers know the risks," she said. "It's a choice we have a right to make, and I don't want to have to look at photos of a diseased lung or a graveyard sitting on my coffee table."

Sibicky said for the messages to work, the smokers would have to believe they can stop smoking and have knowledge about how to quit. Otherwise, fear is ineffective, he said.

"Smoking changes brain chemistry, and it is very difficult to stop," he said.

Stephanie Davis, director of the Washington County Tobacco Prevention Project, which is taking part in the Great American Smokeout program today in Marietta and Belpre, said she agrees that new warning labels may only persuade a small percentage of smokers to stop. About 20.6 percent of American adults smoke, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"They're already aware of the dangers," Davis said. "But it may persuade younger people from starting, so I think it could be valuable there."

The larger, more graphic labels may be new to the U.S., but other countries have had them in place for a decade or longer.

In Canada, which had the first government-required graphic health warnings now adopted by 39 other nations, cigarette packs show yellow teeth, children inhaling secondhand smoke and even a cigarette drooping over next to the slogan "Tobacco Use Can Make You Impotent."

"Most people think they might get lung cancer, but it affects your brain, your vision, your hearing, your bladder, so many things," Davis added.

Warnings on cigarettes sold in America began in 1966, with the vague words "Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your Health."

Over the years, the text has grown longer but remains informational in nature and in the same color as the rest of the writing on the packages.

More modern-day warnings read "Surgeon General's Warning: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema and May Complicate Pregnancy" or similar versions of that information.

On the new U.S. labels, Davis said she hopes to see a more detailed list of ingredients.

"With tobacco, there are more than 4,000 ingredients, and they're only required to list nicotine and carbon monoxide," she said. "The FDA has never regulated anything tobacco-related while they regulate everything else from water to bubble gum. I think we've been slow to do this because of all the tax money associated with tobacco sales."

Under a new law that allows the FDA stronger regulations in the industry but stops it from being able to ban products outright, tobacco manufacturers will have to provide their formulas to the agency for the first time so all ingredients are known.

Most will be kept confidential under trade-secret laws, but a list of potentially harmful ingredients will be published in June.

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