Tag: Graphic Health Warnings

  • Study: Graphic Health Warnings May Work

    Study: Graphic Health Warnings May Work

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Graphic health warnings on cigarette packs do indeed scare smokers, but they should be combined with other anti-smoking measures, reports HealthDay, citing new research published by Jama Network Open.

    For the study, David Strong, professor in the School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at the University of California, San Diego, assessed how 357 smokers in San Diego responded to graphic warning labels used on cigarettes sold in Australia.

    Participants in the study received one of three types of cigarette packs: a pack with a graphic warning label; a blank pack; or a standard commercially available U.S. pack.

    Those who received cigarettes in the standard pack or a blank pack had no change in their positive views of cigarettes, but there was a decline among those who received a pack with a graphic warning label, the investigators found.

    Health concerns increased in all three groups, likely because they were forced to think about the health consequences of smoking more often, the study authors noted.

    “While these labels make smokers more likely to think about quitting, it did not make them more likely to make a serious quit attempt nor was it sufficient to help them quit their nicotine addiction,” said study senior author Karen Messer.

    “Thus, graphic warning labels are an integral component of tobacco control strategies, but they are only one tool for governments to reduce the societal costs from the death and disease caused by tobacco smoking,” Messer said in a university news release.

    According to Strong, graphic warning labels are used in more than 120 countries to counter marketing that promotes cigarette smoking. U.S. lawmakers approved graphic health warnings in 2009, but implementation has been stalled until legal challenges to the law by the tobacco industry are resolved.

  • Graphic Warnings Postponed to July 2022

    Graphic Warnings Postponed to July 2022

    Images: FDA

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has delayed the effective date by which cigarette manufacturers will be required to print graphic health warnings on their products by three months to July 13, 2022, reports The Winston-Salem Journal.

    It is at least the fourth delay for the graphic warning labels when counting previously set launch dates of June 18, 2021, Oct. 16, 2021, Jan. 14, 2022, and April 14, 2022.

    The FDA released its final rule requiring new graphic warnings for cigarettes in March 2020. The rule calls for labels that feature some of the lesser known health risks of smoking, such as diabetes. The graphic warnings must cover the top 50 percent of the front and rear panels of packages as well as at least 20 percent of the top of advertisements.

    In April and May 2020, cigarette manufacturers and retailers sued the FDA, arguing that the graphic warning requirements amount to governmental anti-smoking advocacy because the government has never forced makers of a legal product to use their own advertising to spread an emotionally charged message urging adults not to use their products.

    In a more recent challenge, tobacco companies argued that the deadline was too onerous due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. They also pointed to the risk that they would lose their investments in new packaging if the graphic health warning requirement were to be thrown out in court.

    “These expenditures of resources for the purpose of meeting the rule’s requirements constitute irreparable harm because plaintiffs cannot recover money damages should the rule and/or the graphic warning requirement in the Tobacco Control Act be invalidated,” the companies said in a legal filing.

    In March 2021, a district court judge in Texas granted a motion by the plaintiffs to postpone the effective date of the final rule to April 14, 2022. In May 2021, the court pushed back the final rule by an additional 90 days.

    This is the Food and Drug Administration’s second attempt to enact graphic health warnings under the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The first rule was struck down by the federal court in the District of Columbia as a violation of the First Amendment.

  • U.S. Graphic Health Warnings Delayed Again

    U.S. Graphic Health Warnings Delayed Again

    Image: FDA CTP

    A district court judge in Texas has again delayed the effective date for graphic health warnings on U.S. cigarette packs, according to reports in The Winston-Salem Journal and Lexus Legal News. The new date is April 14, 2022, pushed back from Jan. 14, 2022.

    This marks the third delay for the warnings. On May 8, 2020, a court ordered the effective date to be delayed from June 18, 2021, to Oct. 16, 2021, because of the coronavirus. In December, Judge J. Campbell Barker further postponed the new requirements to Jan. 14, 2022, agreeing with the tobacco industry’s assertion that question about the validity of the rule remain unanswered.

    The Food and Drug Administration released its final rule requiring new graphic warnings for cigarettes in March 2020. The rule calls for labels that feature some of the lesser known health risks of smoking, such as diabetes, on the top half of the front and back of cigarette packages and at least 20 percent of the area on the top of cigarette advertisements.

    The warnings include statements that tobacco smoke can harm children and that smoking can cause bladder cancer and neck and head cancer.

    The 11 new warnings must be randomly and equally displayed and distributed on cigarette packages and rotated quarterly in cigarette advertisements.

    In April and May 2020, cigarette manufacturers and retailers sued the FDA, arguing that the graphic warning requirements amount to governmental anti-smoking advocacy because the government has never forced makers of a legal product to use their own advertising to spread an emotionally charged message urging adults not to use their products.

    In the more recent challenge, tobacco companies argued that the deadline was too onerous due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. “These expenditures of resources for the purpose of meeting the rule’s requirements constitute irreparable harm because plaintiffs cannot recover money damages should the rule and/or the graphic warning requirement in the Tobacco Control Act be invalidated,” the companies said in a legal filing.

    This is the Food and Drug Administration’s second attempt to enact graphic health warnings under the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The first rule was struck down by the federal court in the District of Columbia as a violation of the First Amendment.

  • Tobacco Firms Urged to Submit Health Warnings

    Tobacco Firms Urged to Submit Health Warnings

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is encouraging tobacco companies to submit their plans for compliance with the agency’s upcoming graphic health warning requirements as soon as possible, and in any event by March 16, 2021.

    Following two postponements, the effective date for graphic health warnings is now Jan. 14, 22.

    The FDA’s final rule, “Required Warnings for Cigarette Packages and Advertisements,” establishes new required cigarette health warnings for cigarette packages and advertisements. Each required warning, comprising a textual warning statement and its accompanying color graphic, must be accurately reproduced as shown in the materials contained in “Required Cigarette Health Warnings, 2020.”

    The FDA says it intends to revise its relevant guidance documents related to the rule with the new effective date.

    Tobacco companies may contact CTP with questions about the effective date.

    The graphic health warning requirements had originally been scheduled to take effect on June 18, 2021. Due the Covid-19 pandemic, they were postponed to Oct. 16, 2021.

    In November, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Liggett Group and ITG Brands, along with cigarette retailers, asked for further postponement. The companies argued they would suffer irreparable harm if they were forced to spend millions of dollars to comply with a rule that might soon be invalidated.

    “These expenditures of resources for the purpose of meeting the rule’s requirements constitute irreparable harm because plaintiffs cannot recover money damages should the rule and/or the graphic-warning requirement in the Tobacco Control Act be invalidated,” the companies stated.

    On Dec. 2, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted their request and postponed the effective date by an additional 90 days.

     

  • U.S. Graphic Warnings Postponed Again

    U.S. Graphic Warnings Postponed Again

    Illustration: FDA

    A Texas federal court Wednesday further postponed the effective date of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new requirement for graphic warning labels on cigarette packs to January 2022, reports Law360.

    In his ruling, U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker sided with the tobacco industry, which argued that questions over the validity of the rule remain unanswered. A hearing for pending motions for summary judgment and motion for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for next week,

    In November, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Liggett Group and ITG Brands, along with cigarette retailers, asked for the postponement. The companies argued they would suffer irreparable harm if they were forced to spend millions of dollars to comply with a rule that will soon be invalidated.

    “These expenditures of resources for the purpose of meeting the rule’s requirements constitute irreparable harm because plaintiffs cannot recover money damages should the rule and/or the graphic-warning requirement in the Tobacco Control Act be invalidated,” the companies stated.

    Barker has already pushed the rule’s effective date back once due to the coronavirus pandemic, at the request of tobacco companies and the FDA. In a May 8 order, the judge delayed the effective date from June 18, 2021, to Oct. 16, 2021.

    In March, the FDA released a final rule requiring new graphic warnings for cigarettes that feature some of the lesser-known health risks of smoking, such as diabetes, on the top half of the front and back of cigarette packages and at least 20 percent of the area on the top of cigarette advertisements.

    The warnings include statements that tobacco smoke can harm children and that smoking can cause bladder cancer and neck and head cancer.

    In April, the cigarette manufacturers and retailers sued the FDA, arguing that the graphic warning requirements amount to governmental anti-smoking advocacy because the government has never forced makers of a legal product to use their own advertising to spread an emotionally charged message urging adults not to use their products.

  • Graphic Labels for New ‘Tobacco’ Products

    Graphic Labels for New ‘Tobacco’ Products

    Photo: Manfred Schindler from Pixabay

    The Philippine government has ordered manufacturers, importers and sellers of vapor products and heated-tobacco products (HTPs) to print graphic health warnings on their packaging within 18 months, reports Business World. Sale of these products is now limited to those over the age of 21.

    The implementation of the graphic warnings is part of the country’s “sin tax” laws.

    The Department of Health will issue templates for the warnings, including for inserts and other advertising, outside packaging and labeling, and other packaging from domestic and overseas manufacturers.

    The Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will act as the regulating agencies for manufacturers, importers and sellers of vapor products and HTPs, with authority over packaging, advertising and distribution. The FDA will also conduct scientific studies on the health impact of these products.

    The Department of Budget and Management will determine how the tax funds from these products will be allocated and released to tobacco-producing provinces.

    The Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue will determine the rules for setting floor prices.

  • Firms Ask for Further Delay of Warnings

    Firms Ask for Further Delay of Warnings

    Image: HHS

    Tobacco companies have asked a Texas federal court to further postpone the effective date of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new requirement for graphic warning labels on cigarette packs, citing unanswered questions about the validity of the rule, according to a report by Law360.

    R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Liggett Group and ITG Brands, along with cigarette retailers, told U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker that he should delay the rule’s effective date, currently Oct. 16, 2021, for 90 days to Jan. 14, 2022.

    The companies argued they would suffer irreparable harm if they were forced to spend millions of dollars to comply with a rule that will soon be invalidated.

    Judge Barker had already pushed the rule’s effective date back once in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, following a request from the FDA. In a May 8 order, the judge delayed the date from June 18, 2021, to Oct. 16, 2021.

    In March, the FDA released a final rule requiring new graphic warnings for cigarettes that feature some of the lesser-known but still serious health risks of smoking, such as diabetes, on the top half of the front and back of cigarette packages and at least 20 percent of the area on the top of cigarette advertisements.

    In April, the cigarette manufacturers and retailers sued the FDA, arguing that the graphic warning requirements cross the line into governmental anti-smoking advocacy. The FDA has a motion pending to either toss this case or transfer it to Washington, D.C., where a similar case has been filed.

    Judge Barker has given the FDA, which opposes the additional deadline extension, until Wednesday to file a response to the motion.

     

  • India Delays New Health Warnings

    India Delays New Health Warnings

    Image: PixaBay

    The health ministry of India has deferred implementation of its new pictorial health warnings for tobacco products. The new warnings will be enforced from Dec. 1 instead of Sept. 1.
     
    Public health advocates criticized the postponement.
     
    “By delaying the next round of pictorial warnings on tobacco products, the health ministry is not only contradicting its own advisory to hold back tobacco use during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is adversely impacting the motivation of tobacco users to quit while being in conducive environment socially,” said Rakesh Gupta, a consultant working for Tobacco Cessation.
     
    Some 270 million adults in India consume tobacco, which is blamed for more than 1.3 million premature deaths every year.
     
    The Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2016–17 showed that 62 percent of cigarette smokers and 54 percent of bidi smokers said they had thought of quitting because of the mandatory 85 percent pictorial warnings on packs. Forty-six percent of smokeless tobacco users thought of quitting because of warnings on smokeless tobacco products.

  • India Specifies New Health Warnings

    India Specifies New Health Warnings

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    India’s Ministry of Health on July 23 issued new sets of specified health warnings with enhanced pictorial images to be printed on all tobacco products. The amended rules will be applicable from Dec. 1, 2020, and will be in force till 12 months thereafter.

    In a statement, the Health Ministry said, “All tobacco products manufactured or imported or packaged on or after Dec. 1, 2020, shall display the first set of images while the second set of images will be displayed by the tobacco products manufactured or imported or packaged on or after Dec. 1, 2021. Any person engaged directly or indirectly in the manufacture, production, supply, import or distribution of cigarettes or any tobacco products shall ensure that all tobacco product packages shall have the specified health warnings exactly as prescribed.”

    Violators risk imprisonment or fines as prescribed in Section 20 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act of 2003.

  • Singapore Enacts Plain Packaging Law

    Singapore Enacts Plain Packaging Law

    Photo: PixaBay

    Cigarette manufacturers operating in Singapore will be required to sell their products in standardized packaging starting July 1, reports The Straits Times.

    The new rule, which also mandates enlarged graphic health warnings, will apply to all tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, bidis and roll-your-own tobacco products, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).

    Announced on Oct 31, 2018, the measures are intended to encourage smokers to quit and discourage nonsmokers from picking up the habit.

    As part of the new regulations, tobacco companies will have to remove from their product packaging all logos, colors, images and promotional information.

    The graphic health warnings must cover at least 75 percent of surfaces, up from the current 50 percent.

    Non-compliance is punishable with a fine of up to SGD10,000 ($7,171), jail of up to six months, or both, for first-time offenders.

    Those with a prior qualifying conviction will face heavier penalties.

    The government of Singapore had given tobacco manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and retailers a year to prepare for the new measures.

    The Health Sciences Authority also sent letters and e-mails to remind tobacco licensees of the new packaging regulations.