Cigarette packets to get more striking warnings
By Jia Feishang |
July 25, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MORE eye-catching warning notices are set to be printed on Chinese cigarette packets, as experts say current ones are ineffective, the Beijing Morning Post reported yesterday.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said it will modify current regulations later this year, requiring warnings to be printed larger with more text and pictures added.
It has not yet been decided whether to retain English translations.
The current warnings were moved to the front of packets from the side three years ago, but some smokers are unconvinced of their effectiveness.
"I don't pay attention to them because the color of the characters is the same as the packet," one smoker told the newspaper.
About 30 percent people interviewed in a survey said they wanted to quit smoking after reading the current warning notices, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
But 91 percent of Chinese smokers said they wanted to stop smoking after seeing the often hard-hitting and graphic warnings on foreign cigarette packets.
Wu Yiqun, an expert on anti-smoking, said printing warnings, especially pictures, on cigarette packets can be an effective way to control smoking, but China's current warnings are small and inconspicuous.
These warnings never change and have no visual impact, added Wu.
He suggested that domestic cigarette packets should learn from their foreign counterparts, according to the report.
Officials with the disease control and prevention center said warnings signs should be clear and striking enough to explain the health risks from smoking, and both words and pictures should be used, the newspaper reported.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said it will modify current regulations later this year, requiring warnings to be printed larger with more text and pictures added.
It has not yet been decided whether to retain English translations.
The current warnings were moved to the front of packets from the side three years ago, but some smokers are unconvinced of their effectiveness.
"I don't pay attention to them because the color of the characters is the same as the packet," one smoker told the newspaper.
About 30 percent people interviewed in a survey said they wanted to quit smoking after reading the current warning notices, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
But 91 percent of Chinese smokers said they wanted to stop smoking after seeing the often hard-hitting and graphic warnings on foreign cigarette packets.
Wu Yiqun, an expert on anti-smoking, said printing warnings, especially pictures, on cigarette packets can be an effective way to control smoking, but China's current warnings are small and inconspicuous.
These warnings never change and have no visual impact, added Wu.
He suggested that domestic cigarette packets should learn from their foreign counterparts, according to the report.
Officials with the disease control and prevention center said warnings signs should be clear and striking enough to explain the health risks from smoking, and both words and pictures should be used, the newspaper reported.
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