STOP SMOKING
More than 40 country’s us photos on packs of car
to show health risk. If Americans think the proposed graphic warnings for
cigarette packs are frightening, they should see what’s on packages in other
countries, and many more are in the process of implement them.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) proposed 36 possible illustrations and will pick one to run with each of
nine new health warning statements it is to require on packaging and ads as of
October 2012. Up until now, U.S. cigarette packs have carried only tads warnings
and those haven’t changed since 1985. The US is playing catch-up with countries
on every continent and some researchers say a number of its proposed images
aren’t scary enough.
In 2001 Canada was the first to
add picture warnings; many other countries have surpassed it. One problem is
that after spending much time and money developing new ones, the Canadian
government has never changed them. As a result the warnings” effectiveness has
waned.l
Uruguay on the other hand, is
battling tobacco giant Philip Morris International over its warning which cover
80% of the package the largest in the world. The company has filed an arbitration
claim with the World Bank alleging that Uruguay’s warnings violate its trade agreement
with Switzerland where Philip Morris is based. The warning leaves little space “for
display of legally protected traders,” the company says. In addition Philip
Morris alleges “repulsive and shocking pictures such as a grotesquely disfigured
baby don’t accurately depict health effects.”
Many countries besides Uruguay
require images that are bigger and harsher than those proposed by the FDA which
include women blowing smoke in children”s faces and diseased lungs.
Some of the proposed pictures
are cartoons. Using them would be risky, because, “smokers might not take them seriously,
“says Danny Carr an assistant professor of sales at Columbia University,
“Believability is one of the key
issues for warnings.”
The FDA might have been
concerned that gross-type visual would offend smoker, evoking anger instead of
a desire to quit, but research has found that the scarier the images the more
likely smokers were to say they feel inspired to quit. It doesn’t matter what
the theme is. The more graphic the more positive the response by smokers.
Brazil’s anti-smoking images,
introduced in 2004 have been called the scariest in the world. To be continued…
Dr. Karl Wallace D.D.S. To
read more go to: w.w.w.karlwallaceblog.blogspot.com
