The Philippines implemented a law on the inclusion of graphic health warning (GHW) labels in cigarette packs to increase awareness about the health effects of smoking, to quit smoking, or to deter potential users from engaging in cigarettes. Investigating its impact on senior high school (SHS) students may provide insights into enhancing and reinforcing the law to achieve its purpose at the adolescent developmental stage.

The objective of this study was to determine the perceived emotional and cognitive reactions as well as the perceived health risks of GHWs among nonsmoking SHS students in Leyte and their relationship to their level of exposure.

A cross-sectional design was employed involving 247 students from public high schools in Pastrana, Leyte, who were selected through stratified random sampling. A self-report questionnaire was used to gather the data. Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient was used to test the hypothesis.

The majority of the participants reported positive perceptions of GHW labels. Moreover, the majority of them have seen GHW at least once a week on cigarette packs and evoked variable agreement about the high arousal and low arousal negative emotion, but have positive cognitive reactions. They have a strong agreement on the perceived health risks posed by cigarette smoking through GHWs. There was a positive and significant correlation between the level of exposure and the perceived health risks of smoking through the GHWs.

Adolescent learners reported variable agreement on emotional reactions, but had positive cognitive reactions to tobacco GHW labels. They also have reported that GHWs in cigarette packs provide positive visual information on the health effects and other consequences of smoking. Those who have frequent exposure to the GHWs of the cigarette packs were more likely to report knowledge and information on the health risks of smoking. Thus, the GHWs on cigarette packs are still necessary to decrease the new smoker rate, especially among adolescents. Policy implications toward the continuous development of GHWS are offered.