Tobacco.org

Pictorial warning on tobacco products from Sunday 

Smokers may think twice before lighting up from Sunday. Starting May 31, the World No Tobacco Day, all tobacco products will carry graphic pictorial warnings like the skull and cross bones or a cancer-disfigured face or diseased lungs to highlight the hazards of tobacco intake.

The implementation of the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (Packing and Labelling) Rules 2008 follows a long battle between NGOs and tobacco industries. The central government had deferred the new law for six months in the wake of pressure from influential tobacco companies.

The move finally came on a plea in the Supreme Court earlier in May by NGO Health for Millions, which alleged that powerful tobacco lobbies were to blame for coming in the way of the law over the last three years.

The pictorial warning would occupy 40 percent of the space on the front of all packets of tobacco products.

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Call for pictorial warnings on tobacco packs 

WHO today urged governments to require that all tobacco packages include pictorial warnings to show the sickness and suffering caused by tobacco use.

WHO's call to action comes on the eve of World No Tobacco Day, 31 May. This year's campaign focuses on decreasing tobacco use by increasing public awareness of its dangers.

Studies reveal that even among people who believe tobacco is harmful, few understand its specific health risks. Despite this, health warnings on tobacco packages in most countries do not provide information to warn consumers of the risks.

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EDITORIAL: World No-Tobacco Day: Prevent the deaths of more than 5 million people from the effects of tobacco every year 

The theme of World No-Tobacco Day on May 31, 2009, "Tobacco Health Warnings" cautions people about nicotine as a highly addictive substance. Requiring warnings on tobacco packages is a simple, effective strategy that can vastly reduce tobacco use and save lives. If left unchecked, the lung cancer burden of tobacco will more than triple in the next 25 years.

We must help and convince current smokers to quit and prevent the tobacco industry from using its marketing techniques to lure the world's children into deadly cigarette addiction.

We have to act now to eliminate the global scourge of tobacco and save hundreds of millions of lives in the next decades.

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FDA may get new authority over tobacco products 

In a historic shift in public health policy, Congress is poised to give the federal government sweeping new authority to regulate the manufacturing of cigarettes and other tobacco products. . . .

Yet the victory, which eluded anti-tobacco advocates for decades, comes with challenges as well as promise, as federal officials are given never-before-used tools to control a product that is still linked to approximately 400,000 deaths every year in the United States.

Particularly tricky may be keeping up the momentum of the anti-smoking campaign even as regulators try to make cigarettes safer, an effort that could paradoxically make some smokers less inclined to quit.

"We just don't know what is going to happen," said Kenneth E. Warner, dean of the University of Michigan's School of Public Health who has studied tobacco use for decades. "This is uncharted territory."

Altria Group Inc. -- the parent company of industry leader Philip Morris, which may have an easier time maintaining its dominance in a more regulated market -- has endorsed the bill.

"FDA regulation would provide some clear guidelines for products that could potentially reduce the harm caused by smoking," company spokesman William Phelps said.

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A history of tobacco regulation  

Tobacco regulation

1964: The surgeon general issues a landmark report linking smoking to lung cancer.

1965: Warning labels are mandated on cigarette packs stating, "Caution: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health." . . .

2009: Congress approves the largest-ever increase in the federal cigarette tax, boosting it 62 cents, to $1.01 a pack.

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• Anti-tobacco law gains support 

A report on a survey, to assess the levels of Second Hand Smoke (SHS) in selected places, has indicated that 80 per cent of workers in smoking and non-smoking establishments were in favour of smoke-free laws, citing health as a reason.

The report said even though all smoking venues, except one, had ventilation systems, 96 per cent had Particulate Matter of 2.5 level, which fell into hazardous category of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Air Quality Index.

According to Mr Winfred Agbenyikey, who conducted the research, the ventilation system cannot protect people from SHS exposure. . . .

Presenting a Paper at a day's seminar on the theme: "Ban on Smoking in Public Places," for senior staff of the EPA in Accra on Thursday, he said bar owners interviewed claimed customers' preference and concerns over loss of revenue as their reason for allowing smoking in their establishments.

He, however, noted that owners of non-smoking locations, which had gone smoke-free voluntarily, six months before the study, reported a hike in attendance and increased revenue after the ban.

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Delhi govt committed to make city smoke-free by CW games 

The Delhi government on Friday said it is committed to make Delhi a smoke-free city well before commencement of Commonwealth Games next year.

Delhi's Health and Family Welfare Minister Kiran Walia said 76 government departments have identified Nodal Officers and they are being trained to ensure compliance of prohibition of smoking laws.

She said the government has formed eight raiding squads to stop smoking in public places in Delhi.

"These squads have conducted raids on 15,033 public places and have fined 10,456 persons," she said addressing a function here. Walia added that 432 vendors were fined and a total amount of Rs 10,73,743 has been fined from violators.

Walia was speaking while releasing a short-film on "Tobacco: Threat to life and development".

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Mayor Roefaro supports bill that would regulate tobacco advertising 

Utica Mayor David Roefaro says he supports the Family Smoking and Tobacco Control Act that is awaiting a vote by the U.S. Senate. The bill would give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco products, including the way they are advertised.

The mayor visited several convenience stores throughout the city and photographed what he called subliminal advertising by tobacco companies. He says many are located near child eye level and in areas where children often visit, such as ice cream freezers.

Utica Mayor David Roefaro says he supports the Family Smoking and Tobacco Control Act that is awaiting a vote by the U.S. Senate. The bill would give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco products, including the way they are advertised.

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Cigarette manufacturers put on notice 

Cigarette manufacturers risk prosecution if they do not adhere to the Tobacco Control Act that calls for pictorial warning messages on the cigarettes packs.

The Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation says that the Act which obligates players to give both words and pictorial messages is in force.

The Chairman of the Tobacco Control Board Prof Peter Odhiambo said the deadline or compliance with the new law has run out.

"Pictorial messages will be more effective than just written words because we know that we have some cases in rural areas where some people cannot read. Tobacco health warnings are therefore strong defenses," he said.

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