Graphic Cigarette Warning Labels

TAPESCRIPT

Strokes, heart disease, cancer, and even death.
All things people know can be caused by cigarettes.
Now the Food and Drug Administration wants to show you.

“Well images of a dead body and cancerous lungs will soon plaster cigarette packs. The food and drug administration released nine images today that tobacco manufacturers must place on their products along with a warning about the dangers of smoking.” (Bloomberg)


USA Today reports the FDA doesn’t make changes often, but hopes new labels may succeed where the current ones are lacking.

“These warnings mark the first change in cigarette warnings in more than 25 years and are a significant advancement in communicating the dangers of smoking."


The current label is hardly noticeable on the side of the box -- saying...

“Surgeon General’s Warning: Smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and may complicate pregnancy.” (The Safe Cig)


Where that small-type was not very eye-catching the new warnings are meant to shock and will be taking up half the box with images like...

How exactly smoking can effect your lungs...
to more disturbing visuals -- like a dead body...
and one man still smoking after a tracheotomy.

The FDA is expecting a significant health impact.But ABC talked to actual smokers about how effective the new labels will be.

REPORTER: “Do you have kids?”
SMOKER1: “Yes, I got three of them at the house right now...”
REPORTER: “So how does this stand with you then”
SMOKER1: “I mean it touches you.”
REPORTER: “A few should catch anyone’s attention like a corpse and a cancer ridden mouth.
SMOKER1: “Man if I’d seen that on my pack it might make me think about, ya know, stopping smoking.”
SMOKER2: “It’s a little much I think. If you want to smoke you’re taking the risk. It’s really that simple. This is kind of offensive I guess.”


Whether or not the images will make a difference is the big question. A CNN correspondent says similar label changes have had few effects in other countries.


“There are studies that show that there may be some relatively minimal declines in smoking possibly based on these ads, these labels rather, but it may be based something else. But really what they know is that it certainly makes people think. It may not make them stop smoking but it makes them think about where they smoke. It may make them think about wow maybe I shouldn’t smoke around their kid but these in other countries, these labels have not made people say ‘oh my gosh I’m going to quit smoking,’ and the rates have not declined dramatically.”


The new cigarette labels will be on boxes in the U.S. in September 2012.