From Mar. 22, health warnings must cover at least 50 percent of cigarette packaging, up from 35 percent, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday.
Article 11 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control requires all contracting parties to ensure that tobacco product packaging carry health warnings describing the harmful effects of tobacco use, the HPA said, adding that it has been proven to be an important tool in communicating the effects of smoking.
The article also stipulates that the warnings “should be 50% or more of the principal display areas but shall be no less than 30% of the principal display areas.”
Photo: CNA
A 2021 report by the Canadian Cancer Society found that 166 countries required health warnings on cigarette packaging, including 122 countries (about 73 percent) which required that health warnings cover 50 percent or more of the packaging, the HPA said.
Studies have also suggested that changing the images and text used in warnings could help maintain their effectiveness, it said.
However, the frequency at which health warnings are changed varies among countries, with Chile rotating its warnings most frequently (once per year on average), it said.
The Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法) promulgated in 1997 required warning message to be printed on cigarette packages, but it had a limited effect, so the act was amended in 2007 to ensure that warning images and text cover at least 35 percent of the packaging, starting in 2009.
Warning images remind smokers of the harmful effects of tobacco use and clearly convey their message to children and adolescents, reducing the possibility of them picking up the harmful habit, HPA Director-General Wu Chao-chun (吳昭軍) said yesterday.
The act was amended on Mar. 22 last year to stipulate that warnings must cover at least 50 percent of cigarette packaging, and those who contravene the rule face a fine of NT$10,000 to NT$50,000, he said.
While many know smoking can increase the risk of liver disease, liver cancer, cardiovascular disease and stroke, the HPA cited a WHO document titled “More than 100 reasons to quit tobacco” and said that “smoking causes many eye diseases which, if left untreated, can lead to permanent vision loss.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and the New York State Department of Health have published data linking smoking to an increased risk of developing serious eye conditions, including macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma and even blindness, the HPA said.
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