Is it time for Picture-based Health Warnings on Cigarette Packs?

[Aasma Haq]

By Aasma Qamer

Almost everyone knows that smoking is bad for health. But smokers usually don’t think about the negative effects on their own health until they have been smoking for years. They also tend to be less aware of effects other than lung cancer, cardiovascular effects, effects on reproductive health etc. Tobacco industry worldwide is using marketing tactics to target new preys for tobacco products. Although these packs contain health warnings, appear in small black and white print on the side of cigarette packs but it is sad that most people can not remember them. Health warnings first appeared on the side of U.S cigarette packs in 1965, stating that, “Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health”. Messages given in small print on the side of the pack clearly lack salience and persuasive power to deter the smoker consumers from the health hazards of tobacco use. It is commonly observed that an image is more worthwhile and powerful than thousand words.

Tobacco packaging warning messages are health warning messages that appear on the packaging of cigarettes and other tobacco products. They have been implemented in an effort to enhance the public knowledge about the dangers of smoking. In general, warnings used in different countries try to emphasize the same messages. Warnings for some countries are listed below. Such warnings have been commonplace in tobacco advertising for many years. Warning labels inform smokers about the harms of smoking and provide them with knowledge how to improve their health . It has proven in different countries of the world that health warnings with pictures are a very effective way to reduce smoking. Some recent studies indicate that current print health warnings on cigarette packs are woefully ineffective at getting the attention of smokers, communicating health risks or motivating smokers to quit, whereas the type of pictorial warnings are much better.

It is established through different research based studies that picture based health warnings on cigarette packs encourages people to quit smoking. David Hammond and colleagues at University of Waterloo in Canada examined Canadian smokers’ reactions to the pictorial warnings in Canada. Over 90% of smokers had read the new warnings and those who read them, thought about and discussed the new Canadian warnings were more likely to have quit, made a quit attempt, or reduced their smoking three months later. Dr Ellen Peters and colleagues from University of Oregon recently compared US warnings with those in Canada. A majority of both smokers and non-smokers endorsed the use of Canadian-style warnings in the United States .
Graphic health messages on cigarette packs carry important and effective information for smokers. The message is repeated and reinforced every time when a smoker reaches for a cigarette. Smokers believe these messages more and remember them better than public education campaigns. Pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs are inexpensive for governments and tobacco industry pay the cost to print them.

Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), a binding for countries who are party to this treaty, demands to display pictorial health warnings according to its article 11. After the formulation and development of FCTC few countries had a step forward to implement the provisions of the treaty to reduce tobacco epidemic at national level. There are seventeen countries including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Jordan, New Zealand, Panama, Romania, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela which have developed picture based health warnings. The European Union has given each of its 25 member countries the option to require one of 42 picture based cigarette warnings.

In Pakistan, after the ratification of FCTC, Prohibition of Smoking & Non-smokers Health Ordinance, 2002 was promulgated. The legislation due to some lacunas couldn’t be effective for tobacco control. However, a major development was observed which is the ban on tobacco advertisement in print and electronic media. Trend to use tobacco products is rising among youth day by day and according to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey the prevalence of tobacco use among 13-15 years of males and females is 10.1% while the tobacco prevalence among adult males and females is 19.1% and 15.9 % use tobacco daily . The situation is getting worst day by day as prevalence of tobacco among youth is on rise. It is sensed in now that text warnings have not enough impact on smokers to quit smoking. Smoking is more common in low income group of the country and majority of the people are illiterate who can not read text warnings on cigarette packs. Text based warnings like saying “smoking is injurious to health” are too general and abstract to mind of smoker. While picture based health warnings not only reduce the attractiveness of the cigarette packages but also help to create an environment where smoking is less acceptable.

Pakistan’s neighbour countries have implemented the picture based health warnings on cigarette packs to reduce tobacco risk. Now its time for Pakistan to join hands in this global war against tobacco epidemic.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco...rning_messages
http://www.healthline.com/blogs/smok...rnings-on.html
WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008, The MPOWER package