<![CDATA[Pictorial Health Warnings (PHW) on cigarette packaging have been implemented in Indonesia since 2014, yet the number of smokers among the productive age group remains high despite more than a decade of enforcement. This condition indicates a problem in how the audience interprets the message, rather than merely a matter of message reach. This study aims to describe and analyze the meaning of PHW visual communication among productive-age residents of RT 007 RW 009, Bintara Village, Bekasi City. The research employs a descriptive qualitative approach using reception analysis grounded in Stuart Hall's encoding-decoding theory, supported by the concept of visual habituation to explain the effect of repeated exposure on the intensity of audience response. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews, non-participant observation, and documentation involving four informants with different levels of exposure to cigarettes. The findings show that all informants understood the validity of the health-risk messages conveyed by PHW, yet this understanding diverged into dominant, negotiated, and oppositional positions depending on their smoking status and peer social pressure. Visual habituation resulting from repeated exposure further widened the gap between cognitive understanding and actual behavioral change.]]>
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