Graphic health warnings

Laos’ Ministry of Health has said that, as of May 1, all domestic and imported cigarette packs must carry graphic health warnings ‘covering 75 percent of the packaging’, according to a Xinhua News Agency report.

“If we find violations of this regulation, the violators will be warned, have their products seized, fined or have their business license suspended,” Phat Keungsaneth, head of the Secretariat to the National Tobacco Control Committee, said yesterday.

“We expect that in three months, cigarette products circulated in the market that are yet to be labeled with health warnings will disappear and [be] replaced with those with pictorial warnings affixed on the packaging.”

Phat said other countries that had signed the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control had introduced such warnings.

The move would promote public awareness of health hazards and the menace of smoking cigarettes and inhaling second-hand smoke.

“These efforts will help the government inspect and prevent smuggled cigarettes and promote health protection among the general public, especially from non-communicable diseases,” Phat reportedly told the Lao News Agency.