iblog

New regulations from the Department of Health have recently stated that by the end of 2009 all tobacco products will not only carry text but they will also display pictures which highlight the dangers of smoking. A total of fifteen pictures have been chosen which range from mild to almost gruesome, and they will warn consumers of the risks of heart and lung disease.

It is clear that the government is taking a much tougher line on smoking. First we had the smoking ban in all public places, and now even the smokers themselves will face pictorial warnings on cigarette packets. Not only this but only a month after the new pictures come into circulation, the minimum age for purchasing tobacco will be raised from 16 to 18 in both England and Wales. Health secretary Alan Johnson believes that moves such as picture warnings will help people give up the habit. He says:

“We do think it will help the number of people, who want to give up to smoking - the vast majority of smokers want to give up - and this will give them an extra push.”

Most of the public agree with the new tougher measures to limit smoking, and indeed it has been shown that in countries such as Canada and Brazil where picture warnings have already been put in place, more people are aware of the risks and more people are quitting smoking. For example, a study from Canada earlier this year showed that 15% of Canadian smokers were persuaded to give up - this figure being almost double that of places such as US where only text warnings are used. However, some people, such as Neil Rafferty from Smokers’ lobby group Forest, believe that the new measure is simply “victimising” smokers. He says:

“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. The government are bullying smokers simply because they can get away with it.”

It is indeed a controversial subject, but the law has been decided and from October next year all manufacturers of tobacco products will have to comply with the new rules.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 28th, 2007 at 10:33 pm and is filed under Lifestyle, Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.