Size matters when it comes to warnings

British American Tobacco Philippines (BATP) is objecting to some aspects of a proposed measure that would require graphic warnings to be included on the country’s cigarette packs, according to a story in The Philippine Star.

General manager James Lafferty said that while the company backed the display of picture-based warnings on cigarette packs, the images should be limited to 50 percent of the pack instead of the proposed 60 percent.

Consumers would find it difficult to identify a particular cigarette brand if warnings took up more than half of the pack, he added.

Lafferty is seeking also a longer transition period for the introduction of the new packs than is foreseen in the proposal.

It took time to implement such measures, he was quoted as saying. And, in part, his concern seemed to focus on when the graphics would be made available.

The date on which the packs would have to be introduced should be at least 12 months from the time the implementing agency came up with the pictures, not 12 months after the signing of the law, Lafferty said.

Other concerns raised by the tobacco industry concerned provisions on minimum pack size and the removal of product descriptors.