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Assessment of Health Warnings on Tobacco Products – Worldwide, 2007
5/21/2009
Assessment of Health Warnings on Tobacco Products – Worldwide, 2007
Placing health warnings on tobacco packages presents governments with a cost-effective measure to raise awareness of the health risks from tobacco use. Countries can require that packaging include larger health warnings, effective text, and pictures. Pictorial warnings combined with effective text warnings are synergistic and provide the maximum effect in providing information that also increases risk perception and cessation. In addition, pictorial warnings reach out to those segments of the population who cannot read. The World Health Organization urges countries to request for technical assistance for the implementation of picture warnings through the MPOWER package, the %ld W” of which stands for “Warn about the dangers of tobacco.” Tobacco companies have placed greater emphasis on product packaging as a marketing tool in response to legal restrictions placed on other marketing channels. Placing health warnings on tobacco product packages was one of the key evidence-based interventions included in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) that came into force in 2005. Guidelines for the implementation of Article 11 (Packaging and labeling of tobacco products) of the WHO-FCTC were developed to provide a roadmap for countries to meet their WHO-FCTC obligations. This report assesses the current status of tobacco health warnings worldwide using data collected in 2007 from WHO's Member States. The results show that there was a high proportion of member states that had no warnings or warnings that covered <30 percent of the principal display area; only five states were in the highest category with warnings that covered 50 percent or more of the principal display areas and met additional criteria on warnings.
Press Contact:
Timothy O’Leary
Communications Officer
Tobacco Free Initiative
World Health Organization
Phone: +41 (0)22 791 5539
For more information visit: http://www.cdc.gov/media/mmwrnews/2009/n090521.htm
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