Cigarette packets to get more striking warnings
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.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证:沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证:31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证:0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证:沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证:沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.