For years now cigarette packs have displayed warning labels to remind comsumers that tobacco use causes very serious health problems. Even with these warnings, there are many people that continue to smoke.
In an effort to further reduce the amount of smokers in the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently unveiled a new type of warning label. These new labels will have graphic photographs depicting the results of smoking; including yellowed and decaying teeth, cancerous blackened lungs, and surgical aftermath.
Nine new labels were unveiled as part of a series of new regulations for tobacco products. These new warning labels will be at the expense of the tobacco companies. “With these warnings, every person who picks up a pack of cigarettes is going to know exactly what risk they’re taking,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters.
Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death in the US, causing over 440,000 deaths a year. It kills more people than all of the illegal drugs combined including cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines.
These new warnings are mandatory and will be in place by September 2012. The graphic
images will cover the upper portion of the pack on both the front and back. Over half of the package will be covered with these disturbing images. They will also be seen on all cigarette advertisements, covering at least 20% of the ad, and accompanied with a phone number –1-800-QUIT-NOW – for people who need help in their efforts to quit smoking.
“Somebody said when they first saw the warning, these are really gross, and they are,” Sebelius said. “We want kids to understand smoking is gross, not cool.”
It seems that it would be much more difficult to make a product seem appealing when the customer is staring at a cancerous lung or rotting teeth. However, this doesn’t curb the addictive properties of nicotine and may not accomplish as much as expected. These warnings have been in place in other parts of the world such as Canada, Brazil, and Australia for many years, with only moderate success.
This will make the United States the 40th country to adopt the graphic images on cigarette packs.
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