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Tobacco to carry graphic warnings
Disturbing images that will appear on cigarette packs were unveiled by the government today.
The fifteen pictures to have been approved include those of a pair of diseased lungs, a patient having surgery and the dead body of a cancer victim. The images will be carried on all cigarette packets sold in the UK from next autumn, and on all other tobacco products the following year.
Announcing the move, Health Secretary Alan Johnson said that the written warnings on tobacco packaging had made progress, but that “picture warnings are the next vital step in reducing the number of people who smoke.”
Earlier this year, Canadian research suggested that pictorial warnings were much more effective than just words in encouraging smokers to consider quitting.
However, smokers' rights group Forest have criticised the ploy. “The government are bullying smokers simply because they can get away with it,” said spokesperson Neil Rafferty, quoted in the Telegraph.
“You could construct exactly the same argument for placing graphic images on bottles of alcohol, but because most people like to drink alcohol, the government doesn't want to offend the majority.”
Category: Healthy Lifestyle
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