<![CDATA[This study aims to understand the meanings constructed by active smokers toward fear appeal messages presented in pictorial health warnings on cigarette packages. Fear appeal messages are employed as a health communication strategy to evoke fear by visualizing the harmful effects of smoking, with the expectation of increasing awareness and encouraging changes in attitudes and behavior. However, each smoker has different experiences, perceptions, and backgrounds, resulting in diverse interpretations of these messages. This study employed a qualitative approach using a descriptive method within a constructivist paradigm. Four active smokers were selected as research informants through purposive sampling. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation, and were analyzed using the Miles and Huberman data analysis model, which includes data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings indicate that active smokers interpret pictorial health warnings in various ways, ranging from viewing them as reminders of the dangers of smoking to perceiving them as familiar information that no longer has a significant influence on their smoking behavior. Personal experience, level of nicotine dependence, social environment, and perceptions of health risks were identified as factors influencing the meaning-making process. This study is expected to contribute to the development of health communication studies, particularly regarding the effectiveness of fear appeal messages, and to serve as a reference for developing more effective health communication strategies to increase public awareness of the dangers of smoking]]>
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