KEY POINTS

• Experts have raised concerns about the efficacy of warning labels due to consumers' tendencies to ignore them.

• Research shows the most effective warning labels are those that elicit strong emotions, which often means the labels should be graphic rather than text-based.

• Consumer advocates say it's best practice to design the risk out of products rather than to rely on warning labels to protect people.

Warning labels are designed to inform consumers about potential risks of using a product, but they have become too prevalent to be beneficial.

"Warning labels really were fairly rare until the 1960s," said W. Kip Viscusi, a distinguished professor of law, economics, and management at Vanderbilt University. "Beginning in the mid-1960′s, cigarettes started to have a warning label. Since that time, other products have followed suit, trying to emulate the cigarette experience."