It is an irony that a country that introduced text health warnings in 1966 and updated it in 1984 to include the Surgeon General’s warning, cigarettes packages in the U.S still do not carry pictorial warnings. Ten years after the Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, on August 15 this year, … Continue reading Pictorial warning: Will public health override free speech in the U.S?
Pictorial warnings
India to use scarier yet banal pictorial warnings on tobacco products
Starting September 2018, all tobacco products will have scarier pictorial warnings and new grimmer written messages. And for the first time, toll-free telephone numbers will be displayed on packets to help people who want to quit. The graphic warnings will have less effects as they will highlight the same theme of oral cancer. Contrary to … Continue reading India to use scarier yet banal pictorial warnings on tobacco products
Editorial: Discouraging cigarette sales
f cigarettes in the loose, and raise the minimum age from 18 to 21 for the sale of tobacco products, clearly reflects the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s steely determination to wage an all-out war against tobacco consumption. These are commendable initiatives that would go a long way in preventing children from taking up … Continue reading Editorial: Discouraging cigarette sales
Editorial: Packaging punch
Published in The Hindu on August 21, 2012 Indian policymakers should take a long hard look at the recent decision of Australia’s high court upholding landmark legislation passed by Canberra last year to introduce plain packaging of cigarettes. The verdict sends a strong message — public health concerns are supreme and override intellectual property rights … Continue reading Editorial: Packaging punch
Editorial: Make pictures speak
Published in the Hindu on November 19, 2009 If the objective is to persuade tobacco users to quit the self-destructive habit and to deter new users, emotive pictorial warnings alongside printed text on all tobacco products can be highly effective. The World Health Organisation recommends the deployment of “shocking” pictures that bring out the harsh … Continue reading Editorial: Make pictures speak
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