The graphic images on cigarette packets would probably repulse anyone, right? After all, who would want to smoke after seeing photos of gigantic tumours protruding from the neck, or blackened, diseased lungs?
According to a 2016 survey, 70 percent of Indians say they ignore these warnings, and that they are not bothered by them. This comes a few weeks after the Supreme Court ordered cigarette manufacturers to comply with the health ministry’s new regulation mandating that the size of the graphic warning on packets be increased to 85 percent.
World No Tobacco Day is observed on 31 May and the big question is: Do health warnings deter smokers? Global figures seem to suggest they do.
The images in the graphic correspond to the health warnings in the respective countries.
The data, being limited in terms of countries as well as sources, cannot be used to generalise trends across the world, but does provide some insight into the impact of these warnings.
There are still contrarian views with respect to whether pictorial warnings deter smokers or not. While data from the WHO and journal Tobacco Control indicate the effectiveness of warnings, studies in the UK, like the Stirling University Study, claim that they do not deter smokers in any way.
While WHO data revealed that nearly 67% of smokers in Brazil and New Zealand and 44% in Canada and Thailand wanted to quit smoking as a result of graphic pictorial warnings, the story in India is different.
Recent reports and surveys in India have indicated the lack of effectiveness of these warnings.
By comparing the warning on an Indian cigarette packet to the ones in countries like Australia or Nepal, it’s amply clear that not only does the size vary, but the nature and scale of images used also vary drastically.
Not having shocking, gruesome and emotionally arousing images could, therefore, be one of the possible reasons for warnings not acting as a deterrent.
Also, a lot of the smokers buy loose cigarettes, escaping having to look at a packet with blacked lungs on it, another reason why it does not have any effect.
While warnings can act as an intervention and a first step towards getting people to quit, it’s still not enough. Stronger policy decisions and awareness at the grassroots level need to complement any increase in larger and more graphic health warnings on cigarette packets.
(This story was first published on 31 May 2016. It is being reposted from The Quint’s archives to mark World No Tobacco Day.)
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