US set to introduce graphic cigarette warning labels
Cigarette smokers in America will be subjected to images of corpses, cancer patients and diseased lungs on packets under plans being considered by the government.
Three of the 36 proposed new warning labels for cigarette packaging Photo: Food and Drug Administration
11:15AM GMT 11 Nov 2010 Comments
The images are part of a new campaign announced by the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday to reduce tobacco use, which is responsible for about 443,000 deaths per year.
"Some very explicit, almost gruesome pictures may be necessary," FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in an interview with The Associated Press. "This is a very, very serious public health issue, with very, very serious medical consequences," such as cancer, heart disease, strokes and lung diseases.
The share of Americans who smoke has fallen dramatically since 1970, from nearly 40 per cent to about 20 per cent, but the rate has stalled since about 2004. About 46 million adults in the U.S. smoke cigarettes.
In the same period, the average cost per pack has gone from 38 cents to $5.33 (£3.30). Much of those increases are from state and federal taxes.
It's unclear why declines in smoking have stalled. Some experts have cited tobacco company discounts or lack of funding for programs to discourage smoking or to help smokers quit.
The new prevention plan is part of a law passed in June 2009 that gave the FDA authority to regulate tobacco, including setting guidelines for marketing and labelling, banning certain products and limiting nicotine. The law doesn't let the FDA ban nicotine or tobacco.
The FDA is proposing 36 labels for public comment. They include phrases like "Smoking can kill you" and "Cigarettes cause cancer" and feature graphic images to convey the dangers of tobacco. Some of the labels include a man with a tracheotomy smoking a cigarette, a cartoon of a mother blowing smoke in her baby's face, rotting and diseased teeth and gums, as well as cigarettes being flushed down the lavatory to signify quitting.
The agency will select the final labels in June after reviews of scientific literature, public comments and results from an 18,000-person study. Cigarette makers will then have a year and three months to start using the new labels. The new warning labels are to take up the top half of a pack – both front and back – of cigarettes and contain "colour graphics depicting the negative health consequences.
" Warning labels also must constitute 20 per cent of advertisements. In recent years, more than 30 countries or jurisdictions have introduced labels similar to those proposed by the FDA. The U.S. first mandated the use of warning labels stating "Cigarettes may be hazardous to your health" in 1965.
Canada introduced similar warning labels in 2000. Since then, its smoking rates have declined from about 26 per cent to about 20 per cent. How much the warnings contributed to the decline is unclear because the country also implemented other tobacco control efforts.
The labels should shock people and be effective in deterring smokers, but how much is the question, said Marvin Goldberg, the Bard professor of marketing at Pennsylvania State University. "There's no silver bullet. Will this wipe out smoking? No, but it will put a dent in it," Mr Goldberg said.
