The U.S. FDA, Food and Drug Administration, announced on Tuesday that beginning September 2012 all cigarette labels would be required to display more prominent cigarette health warnings on all of their cigarette packaging and advertisements in the United States.
These 9 graphic warnings were released by the FDA both in English and Spanish, and the messages displayed range from “Warning: Cigarettes are addictive,” to “Warning: Cigarettes cause cancer”, to "Warning: Tobacco Smoke may harm your children", to “Warning: Smoking can kill you”.
A significant advancement in cigarette warnings in more than 25 years, the campaign expects to convey the dangers of smoking and create a significant impact on public health by not only lowering the number of smokers, saving lives, increasing life expectancy, but also lowering medical costs as well. Any cigarette brand that doesn't display these warnings that are half the size of the packaging on both front and back will not be allowed to sell their products in the U.S.
Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services, said while making the announcement, "these labels are frank, honest, and powerful depictions of the health risks of smoking and they will help encourage smokers to quit, and prevent children from smoking."
Other countries in the world have already taken similar measures that have been apparently successful after experiencing a drop in smoking. Such countries are Canada and Brazil with 30 other countries also requiring graphic warnings in cigarette packaging.
In addition to the graphic warnings, the FDA has also restricted using such terms as "light" and "mild" as well as fruit, candy, and spice flavoring cigarettes.
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See all 9 graphic warnings below:
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