Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

241 million are considering quitting because of health warnings on cigarette packaging.

Effective warning labels increase knowledge about risks associated with smoking and can decrease intentions to smoke among adolescents, persuade smokers to quit, and keep ex-smokers from starting again.

Graphic warning labels have a greater impact than text-only labels and can be recognized by low-literacy audiences and children.

Effective warning labels are large, clear, rotating, cover at least 50% of the total tobacco pack and consist of both text and graphic images.

Pictorial warning labels on tobacco products counter tobacco industry advertising on tobacco products, increase knowledge about risks associated with tobacco use, reduce adolescents’ intentions to smoke, and motivate smokers to quit.

Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) are required to implement large, clear, rotating health warnings on all tobacco product packaging within three years of ratifying the FCTC.

Rotating multiple graphic health warnings every 12 to 24 months prevents overexposure to warning images and reduced effectiveness among smokers.

Graphic health warning labels are more effective than text-only health warning labels for communicating the harms of tobacco use to smokers.

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control’s Guidelines for Article 11 recommend that graphic health warnings cover 50% or more of tobacco product packaging and that governments establish a rotation system for revising the content of health warnings every 12–36 months.

About 3 in 10 current smokers in Pakistan have thought about quitting because of a warning label.

53% of current smokers in Turkey have thought about quitting because of warning labels.

62.6% of current smokers in Thailand have thought about quitting because of color pictorial health warnings on cigarette packages.

90% of Mexican smokers have noticed warnings labels on cigarettes and 40% of current smokers thought about quitting because of them.

Following the introduction of Australia’s pictorial health warning labels in 2006: 22% of non-smokers and 35% of ex-smokers indicated that the new labels kept them from smoking.

After Australia introduced their pictorial warning labels in 2006, 63% of nonsmokers and 54% of ex-smokers thought the new labels “would help prevent people from taking up smoking.”

After Australia introduced pictorial labels with quitline information in 2006, the rate of quitline callers doubled from the previous two years.

31.7% of Russian smokers have thought about quitting because of warning labels.

After New Zealand introduced pictorial labels with quitline information in 2008, the number of new quitline callers increased. (The rate doubled from 12% to 27% the first month and then remained at 30% thereafter.)

38.2% of Filipino smokers have thought about quitting because of warning labels.

84% of smokers living in Canada, where pictorial warnings are required, saw health warning labels as a source of health information, compared with 47% smokers living in the U.S. where only text labels are required.

After Singapore introduced its pictorial warning labels in 2004, a Health Promotion Board survey found that 28% of smokers reported smoking fewer cigarettes because of the warnings.

After Singapore introduced its pictorial warning labels in 2004, a Health Promotion Board survey found that 14% of smokers said that they avoided smoking in front of children.

After Singapore introduced its pictorial warning labels in 2004, a Health Promotion Board survey found that 12% of smokers reported avoiding smoking in front of pregnant women.

After Singapore introduced its pictorial warning labels in 2004, a Health Promotion Board survey found that 8% of smokers said that they smoked less at home.

After Singapore introduced its pictorial warning labels in 2004, a Health Promotion Board survey found that 28% of smokers reported smoking fewer cigarettes because of the warnings; 14% of smokers said that they avoided smoking in front of children; 12% reported avoiding smoking in front of pregnant women; and 8% said that they smoked less at home.

After New Zealand implemented pictorial warning labels, more smokers recognized the national quitline number than when the quitline information was on the text-only labels (61% vs. 37%).

Pack-a-day smokers are exposed to images printed on packs at least 20 times a day (and 7,000 times a year), when they buy and use cigarettes.

After Canada introduced large pictorial warning labels in 2000, 91% of smokers surveyed said they had read the warnings and were able to demonstrate a strong knowledge of the subjects the warnings covered.

After Canada introduced large pictorial warning labels in 2000, smokers who had read and discussed the warnings were more likely to have quit or made quit attempts at the 3-month follow-up.

After Brazil introduced new pictorial warnings in 2002, 67% of smokers said the new warnings made them want to quit.