Graphic photos on tobacco packs save lives: WHO report

Large, graphic health warnings on tobacco packets in China would increase awareness about the harms of smoking, help to cut smoking rates, and in doing so save lives according to global studies. These are the key findings from a new report, Tobacco health warnings in China - Evidence of effectiveness and implications for action, from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (ITC Project), released today.

"This new report presents a very compelling case for the introduction of large, pictorial - or 'graphic' - health warnings on all tobacco packages in China," Dr Bernhard Schwartla"nder, WHO Representative in China, said.

"The average smoker in China smokes 15-17 cigarettes per day. This means the average smoker is exposed to a health warning more than 6200 times in one year, simply through the act of getting each cigarette from the pack. Making the pack warnings more effective is therefore an incredibly effective way of warning smokers about the health hazards of smoking and encouraging them to quit. And it is very cost-effective for governments too - requiring virtually no financial resources to implement or enforce," explained Dr Schwartla"nder.

The report highlights important international evidence from the ITC Project on the implementation of large, pictorial warnings in other countries and areas.

"Evidence from around the world shows that large, pictorial warnings significantly increase effectiveness of pack warning labels by increasing knowledge, awareness and perceptions of the risk of cigarettes. This leads to greater motivation among smokers to quit, and lowered motivation among non-smokers to start up," said Professor Geoffrey Fong, ITC Project Principal Investigator and co-author of the new report.

"Our research in China shows that the current text-only Chinese health warnings are very ineffective. Revising the current health warnings in line with the WHO FCTC and its Guidelines would increase awareness about smoking-related harms in China, and encourage Chinese smokers to quit. With its more than 300 million smokers, there is an urgent need for China to introduce policies that the evidence shows work," Professor Fong added.

The report also highlights how introduction of large, pictorial warning labels on tobacco packets and full implementation of the WHO FCTC would help reduce the growing burden of non-communicable disease in China.

"Tobacco-related noncommunicable diseases pose a serious threat to the health and life of the Chinese people, also creating a heavy burden on socioeconomic development," said Dr Liang Xiaofeng, Deputy Director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Increasing awareness about the health harms of smoking is particularly important in China, where awareness is currently poor, and there is a tradition of people presenting cigarettes to one another and giving cigarettes as gifts. Educating people about the harm of tobacco through graphic warnings on cigarette packages would be one of the most direct and effective ways to reduce tobacco use," Dr Liang added.