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Chinese cigarette packaging: Show the truth
By Ren Zhongxi
China.org.cn,
November 12, 2009
The WHO Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control (FCTC) took effect in
China on January 9, 2006. According
to the FCTC,
China
should print health warnings in a more obvious manner on cigarette packaging to
indicate the harms of smoking. However, the reality is still a far cry from
satisfying the terms of the convention.
The FCTC was adopted by the World
Health Assembly on May 21, 2003, and was put into action on February 27, 2005.
It has since become one of the most widely embraced treaties in UN history,
with 164 parties in participation at present. According to Article 11 of the
convention, "Each party shall further adopt and implement effective
packaging and labeling measures within a period of three years after entry into
force of the Convention for that Party."
The article sets a series of specific
regulations for cigarette packaging and labeling. For example, parties should
select contrasting colors for the background of the text in order to enhance
noticeability and maximize the legibility of text-based elements of health
warnings and messages. Evidence shows that health warnings and messages that
contain both pictures and text are far more effective than those that are
text-only. Health warnings and messages on tobacco product packaging and
labeling should be on 50 percent or more, but no less than 30 percent, of the
principal display areas.
Moreover, since unrepeated warnings
and messages tend to decrease the impact over time, it maintains that parties
should also change the messages after a specified period. The article further
states that parties should not require quantitative or qualitative statements
on tobacco product packaging and labeling about tobacco constituents and
emissions that might imply that one brand is less harmful than another.
Factsheet 4. Tobacco labelling
and packaging
Key Facts
- Smokers tend to underestimate the health
risks of tobacco use.
- Effective health warnings on cigarette packs
encourage smokers to quit and discourage non-smokers from starting.
- Health warnings use strong, clear and
specific language, and include pictures.
- Governments need to prohibit misleading
labelling and legislate for health warnings.
- Less than 25% of the world’s population has
access to effective health warnings on tobacco packages.
- About half of the world’s population lives
where misleading terms such as ‘light’ and ‘low-tar’ are not adequately
restricted.
The need to adequately inform smokers of the health risks
 Most smokers are unaware of the specific harms
caused by tobacco use. They tend to underestimate the risks of tobacco use to
themselves and others.(1) Most are also unaware of the harmful
ingredients of tobacco products and their smoke emissions. This is because
disclosure of this information on product packages is rarely required.
Smokers have been misled that so-called ‘low-tar’ or ‘light’ cigarettes are
less harmful than ‘regular’ cigarettes. Instead of quitting they may have
switched to a ‘low-tar’ cigarette. Effective health warnings, and disclosure of
ingredients and emissions, motivate smokers to quit and remain non–smokers.
They also discourage non-smokers from starting smoking.
Health warnings on cigarette packs are found in many countries worldwide(2)
but are often ineffective. Most offer only general information, are not in a
local language, are in tiny print, or are not on all tobacco products. This is
a particular problem in developing countries.(3)
Fortunately, significant progress has been made. However 77% of the world’s
population does not have access to adequate health warnings, as defined by the
World Health Organization (WHO). Seventy seven countries do not require any
warnings at all, and more than half of the world’s population lives in
countries that do not adequately restrict the use of misleading terms such as
‘light’ and ‘low-tar’.(1) (4)
Effective health warnings
Health warnings need to use strong, clear and specific language.(5)
They should include graphics such as pictures, which vastly increase the impact
of warnings, and which are an important source of information for children,
younger smokers and people in countries with low literacy rates.(1)
Warnings should be large, covering at least half of the display area on all
main faces of the pack, and use a variety of messages including referring to
specific diseases caused by tobacco.(1)
Governments need to legislate for health warnings, specifying the warning size,
content and design.(2) However, only 15 of the 176 countries
responding to a WHO questionnaire, 6% of the world’s population, mandate
pictorial warnings covering at least 30% of the main display areas.(1)
The first countries to implement large, graphic warnings were Canada and
Brazil. In 2000 Canada introduced graphic warnings and strong
ingredient-reporting requirements.(6)
The following countries or jurisdictions require graphic warnings: Australia,
Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China (Hong Kong SAR), India, Jordan, New
Zealand, Panama, Romania, Singapore, Thailand, UK, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Australia and
New Zealand have the largest
warnings, which cover 30% of the front and 90% of the back of packs.(7)(8) (9) Pictorial warnings have been very effective and
their impact has been very similar across different countries.
For example:(10) (11)
- In
Canada more than one quarter
of smokers said the warnings
motivated them to smoke outdoors in order to protect their families
from exposure to secondhand smoke
- In
Brazil two thirds of smokers
said the warnings made them want to quit(12)
- In
Singapore 71% of smokers said
they knew more about the health effects of smoking because of the warnings(13)
Misleading claims about tobacco ingredients and smoke emissions
The ISO method is used by many countries to measure tar, nicotine and carbon
monoxide levels in cigarettes. It uses a smoking machine but, as this does not
mimic smoker behaviour, it tends to underestimate the yields of these compounds
in so-called ‘low-tar’ cigarettes.(14) So the disclosure of tar,
nicotine and carbon monoxide yields should be avoided.(15)
Many smokers who are considering quitting or reducing cigarette consumption
have switched to ‘mild’ or ‘light’ cigarettes.(16) Smokers believe
that such tobacco products are safer when they are not. Internal documents have
shown that the tobacco industry is responsible for developing the ISO standards
for tobacco products, protecting the industry’s interests and not those of the
smoker.(17)
Only 65 countries report having laws that ban the use of misleading and
deceptive terms such as ‘light’ and ‘low-tar’ on packaging.(1)
Furthermore, in some of the countries that ban deceptive terms, the use of
numbers in branding is allowed, as is the use of misleading terms in promotion.
FCTC requirements
Under Article 11 of The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco, parties must(18)
:
- require multiple rotating warnings in the
country’s main languages - covering at least 30% of the main display
areas, with a recommendation for warnings covering at least 50% of the
main display areas.
- include information on government-defined
constituents and emissions.
- ban misleading terms and package designs that
suggest them.
Best practice
- Include graphic images to accompany textual
messages.
- Include rotating text and graphical images in
a country’s main languages.
- Ensure the health warning takes up at least
50% of the front and back of cigarette package – placed on the top half,
enclosed in a black border.
- Use clear, simple, specific and strong text
and images specified by the government – permanent and not obscured by
other cigarette packaging.
- Require the disclosure of the constituents of
tobacco products and tobacco smoke specified by the government, but not
the quantities.
- Ban the use of misleading terms such as
‘light’ or ‘mild’. Ban any design elements that suggest these terms.
- Ensure that labelling laws do not protect
tobacco manufacturers from liability for the risks caused by use of their
products.
- Place a duty on the sellers of tobacco
products to not sell packages that do not comply with labelling
requirements.
For more information visit http://www.tobaccofreeunion.org/content/en/11/www.theunion.orghttp://www.tobaccofreeunion.org/content/en/11/www.tobaccofreeunion.org
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
(1) WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2008. The MPOWER
packgage.
Geneva,
World Health Organization, 2008. http://www.who.int/tobacco/mpower/en/index.html
(2) Mackay J, Eriksen M, Shafey O. The Tobacco Atlas (2nd ed.).
Atlanta,
GA:
American Cancer Society, 2006. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/AA/content/AA_2_5_9x_Tobacco_Atlas.asp
(3) Macksood A, Kolben D, Lurie P. International cigarette labelling
practices. Tob Control 1999;8:368-72
(4) United National Population Fund 2007 UNFPA. http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2007/english/notes/indicators/e_indicator2.pdf
(5) Canadian Cancer Society. Controlling the tobacco epidemic:
selected evidence in support of banning all tobacco advertising and promotion,
and requiring large, picture-based health warnings on tobacco packages.
Ottawa: Canadian Cancer Society, International
Union Against Cancer, 2001. http://globalink.org/tobacco/docs/packaging/
(6) Tobacco products information regulations. Health
Canada.http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/pubs/tobac-tabac/rc/index_e.html
(7) Picture based Cigarette Health Warnings Legislation and
Regulations. Physicians for a smoke-free
Canada http://www.smoke-free.ca/warnings/countries%20and%20laws.htm
(8) Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Tobacco
warnings cigarette packs set A http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-drugs-tobacco-warning-packs-Ahtm
(9) Cunningham R. Package Warnings. Overview of international
developments. Canadian Cancer Society 2007. http://www.smoke-free.ca/warnings/WarningsResearch/Release_WarningLabels_20070320.pdf
(10) Hammond D, Fong G T, McDonald PW, Cameron R,
Brown
KS.
Impact of the graphic Canadian warning labels on adult smoking behavior. Tob
Control 2003;12:391-5. http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/4/391
(11) Evaluation of new warnings on cigarette packages. Focus
Canada October
2001. Canadian Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.ca/
(12) Cavalcante T and World Health Organization. Labelling and
Packaging in
Brazil.
(January 1, 2003). Tobacco Control. WHO Tobacco Control Papers. http://repositories.cdlib.org/tc/whotcp/Brazil2003/
(13)
Singapore
Health Promotion Board Online http://www.hpb.gov.sg/hpb/default.asp?pg_id=2233
(14) Scientific Advisory Committee on Tobacco Product Regulation.
Recommendation on health claims derived from ISO/FTC method to measure cigarette
yield.
Geneva:
World Health Organization, 2002. http://www.who.int/tobacco/sactob/recommendations/en/iso_ftc_en.pdf
(15) Debunking myths around ‘light’ cigarettes and implications for
‘reduced risk’ products. Tob Control 2001; Vol 10, Supplement 1http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/4/391
(16) Bates C, Rowell A. Tobacco explained: the truth about the
tobacco industry...in its own words.
London:
Action on Smoking and Health, 2004. http://www.who.int/tobacco/media/en/TobaccoExplained.pdf
(17) Bialous S, Yach D. Whose standard is it, anyway? How the
tobacco industry determines the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) standards for tobacco and tobacco products. Tob Control 2001;10:96-104. http://tc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/10/2/96
(18) Framework Convention
Alliance
for Tobacco Control. http://www.fctc.org/
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TheWHO Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is the first global health treaty negotiated
under the auspices of the World Health Organization. This convention is an
evidence-based treaty that includes measures related to reducing demand for
tobacco (e.g. price and taxation, protection from exposure to tobacco smoke,
product regulation, education, restrictions on advertising, promotion, and
sponsorship), as well as measures related to the supply of tobacco (e.g.,
illicit trade, sales to minors). To date, more than 160 countries have ratified
the FCTC.
Article
11 covers three main areas: 1) Government-mandated health warnings, 2)
Labelling of tobacco constituents and emissions, and 3) The removal of
misleading information from the package. Article 11 sets standards in each of
these three areas that countries are required to adopt, as well as
recommendations that countries "should" adopt to enhance the
effectiveness of labelling policies. These standards are included in the
"main" guidelines included in the FCTC text, while additional detail
and advice on implementation are included in the "Elaborated
guidelines" (see below).
Article 11 Guidelines: Packaging and
labelling of tobacco products
1. Each Party shall, within a
period of three years after entry into force of this Convention for that Party,
adopt and implement, in accordance with its national law, effective measures to
ensure that:
(a) tobacco product packaging
and labelling do not promote a tobacco product by any means that are false,
misleading, deceptive or likely to create an erroneous impression about its characteristics,
health effects, hazards or emissions, including any term, descriptor,
trademark, figurative or any other sign that directly or indirectly creates the
false impression that a particular tobacco product is less harmful than other
tobacco products. These may include terms such as “low tar”, “light”,
“ultra-light”, or “mild”; and
(b) each unit packet and
package of tobacco products and any outside packaging and labelling of such
products also carry health warnings describing the harmful effects of tobacco
use, and may include other appropriate messages. These warnings and messages:
(i) shall be approved by the
competent national authority
(ii) shall be rotating,
(iii) shall be large, clear,
visible and legible,
(iv) should be 50% or more of
the principal display areas but shall be no less than 30% of the principal
display areas,
(v) may be in the form of or
include pictures or pictograms.
2. Each unit packet and
package of tobacco products and any outside packaging and labelling of such products
shall, in addition to the warnings specified in paragraph 1(b) of this Article,
contain information on relevant constituents and emissions of tobacco products
as defined by national authorities.
3. Each Party shall require
that the warnings and other textual information specified in paragraphs 1(b)
and paragraph 2 of this Article will appear on each unit packet and package of
tobacco products and any outside packaging and labelling of such products in
its principal language or languages.
4. For the purposes of this
Article, the term “outside packaging and labelling” in relation to tobacco
products applies to any packaging and labelling used in the retail sale of the
product.
Article 11 Elaborated Guidelines:
Additional detail and advice on implementation
Many
of the WHO recommendations are included in a set of "Elaborated
Guidelines" for Article 11, passed in November 2008. The purpose of the
elaborated guidelines is to provide guidance to countries on the implementation
of labelling policies. Topics addressed in the elaborated guidelines
include recommendations for the content, design, and layout of pictorial
warnings, recommendations for "plain packaging" , as well as
additional detail on what constitutes "misleading information" on
packages. You can download the Elaborated
CUSTOMS
INSTRUCTION, Regarding implementation of the Cigarettes and other Tobacco
Products (Packaging and Labeling) Rules, 2008
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Until now, health warnings in 45 countries and regions have occupied at
least 30 percent of areas on cigarette packaging, and 29 countries have
surpassed the 30 percent mark. Twenty-three countries use large-scale pictures
in their warnings. In
Australia,
policies in response to the convention were implemented since 2006. At least 90
percent of the front and 30 percent of the back of Australian cigarette
packaging is covered with a health warning. There are two sets of detailed
pictures of health problems caused by smoking that are rotated every 12 months.
In
Brazil,
the government requires that either the front or the back of cigarette
packaging be printed with health warning pictures and messages, with mandatory
rotations at least every 5 months.
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For more
information visit http://www.tobaccofreeunion.org/content/en/11/www.theunion.orghttp://www.tobaccofreeunion.org/content/en/11/www.tobaccofreeunion.org
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
(1) WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2008. The MPOWER
packgage.
Geneva,
World Health Organization, 2008. http://www.who.int/tobacco/mpower/en/index.html
(2) Mackay J, Eriksen M, Shafey O. The Tobacco Atlas (2nd ed.).
Atlanta,
GA:
American Cancer Society, 2006. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/AA/content/AA_2_5_9x_Tobacco_Atlas.asp
(3) Macksood A, Kolben D, Lurie P. International cigarette labelling
practices. Tob Control 1999;8:368-72
(4) United National Population Fund 2007 UNFPA. http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2007/english/notes/indicators/e_indicator2.pdf
(5) Canadian Cancer Society. Controlling the tobacco epidemic:
selected evidence in support of banning all tobacco advertising and promotion,
and requiring large, picture-based health warnings on tobacco packages.
Ottawa: Canadian Cancer Society, International
Union Against Cancer, 2001. http://globalink.org/tobacco/docs/packaging/
(6) Tobacco products information regulations. Health
Canada.http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/pubs/tobac-tabac/rc/index_e.html
(7) Picture based Cigarette Health Warnings Legislation and
Regulations. Physicians for a smoke-free
Canada http://www.smoke-free.ca/warnings/countries%20and%20laws.htm
(8) Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Tobacco
warnings cigarette packs set A http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-drugs-tobacco-warning-packs-Ahtm
(9) Cunningham R. Package Warnings. Overview of international
developments. Canadian Cancer Society 2007. http://www.smoke-free.ca/warnings/WarningsResearch/Release_WarningLabels_20070320.pdf
(10) Hammond D, Fong G T, McDonald PW, Cameron R,
Brown
KS.
Impact of the graphic Canadian warning labels on adult smoking behavior. Tob
Control 2003;12:391-5. http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/4/391
(11) Evaluation of new warnings on cigarette packages. Focus
Canada October
2001. Canadian Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.ca/
(12) Cavalcante T and World Health Organization. Labelling and
Packaging in
Brazil.
(January 1, 2003). Tobacco Control. WHO Tobacco Control Papers. http://repositories.cdlib.org/tc/whotcp/Brazil2003/
(13)
Singapore
Health Promotion Board Online http://www.hpb.gov.sg/hpb/default.asp?pg_id=2233
(14) Scientific Advisory Committee on Tobacco Product Regulation.
Recommendation on health claims derived from ISO/FTC method to measure cigarette
yield.
Geneva:
World Health Organization, 2002. http://www.who.int/tobacco/sactob/recommendations/en/iso_ftc_en.pdf
(15) Debunking myths around ‘light’ cigarettes and implications for
‘reduced risk’ products. Tob Control 2001; Vol 10, Supplement 1http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/4/391
(16) Bates C, Rowell A. Tobacco explained: the truth about the
tobacco industry...in its own words.
London:
Action on Smoking and Health, 2004. http://www.who.int/tobacco/media/en/TobaccoExplained.pdf
(17) Bialous S, Yach D. Whose standard is it, anyway? How the
tobacco industry determines the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) standards for tobacco and tobacco products. Tob Control 2001;10:96-104. http://tc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/10/2/96
(18) Framework Convention
Alliance
for Tobacco Control. http://www.fctc.org/
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