Scary photos to discourage smokers
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
BEGINNING June 1 2007, tobacco products in India will have pictorial warnings with photographs of tobacco-related cancer patients. Many countries like Thailand, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Poland and Singapore already have a strong warning label regulation.
Health warning labels, both on cigarette packages and on all tobacco marketing materials, help create informed consent between tobacco companies and their customers.
It is also an inexpensive and important first step in a national health education programme.
On June 3, 2004, Brunei Darussalam signed and ratified World's fist corporate accountability and public health treaty FCTC (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control).
Article 11 of the FCTC states that warning messages should cover at least 50 per cent of the principal display areas of the package.
It also requires that the messages be rotated and encourages the use of pictures and pictograms as well as the use of non-health messages.
"We have tried everything but it has been of no use. So now we have decided to put scary photos of cancer patients on tobacco products to discourage consumers,"said India's Union Health Minister Dr Ambumani Ramadoss said at the recent at the New Delhi summit of CII (Confederation of Indian Industries) and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations).
Dr Ramadoss further announced that "all tobacco products would from June 1, 2007, bear photographs of patients suffering from cancer caused by tobacco consumption as further warning".
Tobacco product packaging should be designed to maximise informed consent on the part of the consumer, not to maximise the appeal of the product. Strong and prominent health warning labels, limits on labels such as "slim" and "light" package inserts containing detailed health and ingredient information, and standardised packaging formats are among the ways to accomplish this goal.
Unfortunately, warning labels tend to be weak in all but a few countries.
More than 40 developing countries do not require any warning labels at all.
Of those that do, 73 per cent require weakly worded warnings on the side of the package and many of those are in English rather than local languages.
Numerous studies have been done to determine which elements are most important in creating effective labels. Findings include:
To command attention, warning labels should occupy a minimum of 25 per cent of the top of the front and back of the package. They should be in black and white or other sharply contrasting colours.
Type-style and size also must be specified to avoid industry efforts to undermine the impact of the warning.
Messages should be unequivocal, simple, and stark. They should convey both the nature and magnitude of the risks, since studies show smokers underestimate most
risks associated with tobacco use. Pictorial warnings may also be appropriate, particularly in countries with low literacy rates.
Several nations have implemented strong health warning label requirements. Canada, whose health minister recently proposed enlarging the labels from 30 per cent of the package face to 60 per cent.
In Thailand, which has added the message "Smoking causes impotence" to its list of required warnings.
Australia was the first nation to impose "how to quit" information printed on every pack.
Tobacco companies use words such as "light", "ultralight", "slim" and "superslim" in their brand names and in their marketing materials. Research suggests that these words are intended to make implicit health claims minimising the harmfulness of the product, and may encourage smokers motivated to quit to switch to a "light" brand.
These words also appeal to smokers, primarily women, who believe they can use cigarettes to lose weight.
These pictorial warnings provide smokers with helpful information on the health effects.
Most smokers want this information, and certainly want their children to have this information too.
The tobacco industry is continuing its decades-long strategy of trying to minimise the effectiveness of package warnings. The tobacco industry is no friend of smokers and ironically it's true that "the tobacco industry kills its best customers".
Also package warnings are a good public health strategy because the cost of package warnings is paid for by tobacco companies, not government.
This should not be looked upon as an isolated initiative rather has to be supported by comprehensive healthcare, legislations and education programmes to attain long-run public health gains.
Bobby Ramakant is a senior health and development journalist writing for newspapers in Asia and Africa.
The Brunei Times
Health warning labels, both on cigarette packages and on all tobacco marketing materials, help create informed consent between tobacco companies and their customers.
It is also an inexpensive and important first step in a national health education programme.
On June 3, 2004, Brunei Darussalam signed and ratified World's fist corporate accountability and public health treaty FCTC (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control).
Article 11 of the FCTC states that warning messages should cover at least 50 per cent of the principal display areas of the package.
It also requires that the messages be rotated and encourages the use of pictures and pictograms as well as the use of non-health messages.
"We have tried everything but it has been of no use. So now we have decided to put scary photos of cancer patients on tobacco products to discourage consumers,"said India's Union Health Minister Dr Ambumani Ramadoss said at the recent at the New Delhi summit of CII (Confederation of Indian Industries) and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations).
Dr Ramadoss further announced that "all tobacco products would from June 1, 2007, bear photographs of patients suffering from cancer caused by tobacco consumption as further warning".
Tobacco product packaging should be designed to maximise informed consent on the part of the consumer, not to maximise the appeal of the product. Strong and prominent health warning labels, limits on labels such as "slim" and "light" package inserts containing detailed health and ingredient information, and standardised packaging formats are among the ways to accomplish this goal.
Unfortunately, warning labels tend to be weak in all but a few countries.
More than 40 developing countries do not require any warning labels at all.
Of those that do, 73 per cent require weakly worded warnings on the side of the package and many of those are in English rather than local languages.
Numerous studies have been done to determine which elements are most important in creating effective labels. Findings include:
To command attention, warning labels should occupy a minimum of 25 per cent of the top of the front and back of the package. They should be in black and white or other sharply contrasting colours.
Type-style and size also must be specified to avoid industry efforts to undermine the impact of the warning.
Messages should be unequivocal, simple, and stark. They should convey both the nature and magnitude of the risks, since studies show smokers underestimate most
risks associated with tobacco use. Pictorial warnings may also be appropriate, particularly in countries with low literacy rates.
Several nations have implemented strong health warning label requirements. Canada, whose health minister recently proposed enlarging the labels from 30 per cent of the package face to 60 per cent.
In Thailand, which has added the message "Smoking causes impotence" to its list of required warnings.
Australia was the first nation to impose "how to quit" information printed on every pack.
Tobacco companies use words such as "light", "ultralight", "slim" and "superslim" in their brand names and in their marketing materials. Research suggests that these words are intended to make implicit health claims minimising the harmfulness of the product, and may encourage smokers motivated to quit to switch to a "light" brand.
These words also appeal to smokers, primarily women, who believe they can use cigarettes to lose weight.
These pictorial warnings provide smokers with helpful information on the health effects.
Most smokers want this information, and certainly want their children to have this information too.
The tobacco industry is continuing its decades-long strategy of trying to minimise the effectiveness of package warnings. The tobacco industry is no friend of smokers and ironically it's true that "the tobacco industry kills its best customers".
Also package warnings are a good public health strategy because the cost of package warnings is paid for by tobacco companies, not government.
This should not be looked upon as an isolated initiative rather has to be supported by comprehensive healthcare, legislations and education programmes to attain long-run public health gains.
Bobby Ramakant is a senior health and development journalist writing for newspapers in Asia and Africa.
The Brunei Times
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