The US Surgeon General has a great idea: warning labels on social media platforms, reminding users, especially young people that they are a hazard because of their impact on mental health.

Do you see that working? No, me neither.

It has been almost 60 years since warning labels were mandated on tobacco packaging. Smoking is no longer socially acceptable in many places, so people smoke in secret. And while consumption may be down, advertising may be banned, prices are high and only adults can legally purchase cigarettes, I still see teens on the street puffing on cigarettes.

You can show someone a photograph of a diseased lung, and they still smoke. They don’t believe it will happen to them. It is much tougher to show anyone the negative effects of social media.

You could say the same thing about alcohol, which also has government mandated warning labels. Those don’t seem to stop people from drinking. Anecdotally, it seems to me people are drinking more than they used to.

So stick your warning label on social media. I think the tech companies will laugh all the way to the bank.