Canadian cigarette smokers may soon get a graphic reminder of the effects of their habit. Legislation recently approved by the Canadian House of Commons should pave the way for pictures of diseased lungs and rotted teeth to appear on a large number of cigarette packages sold in Canada by the end of this year.
Final approval of the law is expected this summer in spite of possible tobacco company litigation. "[The companies] appeals record against cigarette package warnings were unsuccessful in the 1990s, with the Supreme Court of Canada rejecting their 1993 appeal by a vote of 9-0," said Rob Cunningham of the Public Issues Office of the Canadian Cancer Society.
Cunningham noted that a draft version of the regulations published April 1 was taken up and approved without amendment by the House of Commons on May 1.
The new law would require that one of 16 smoking deterrent images and messages cover 60% of the front panel of cigarette packages sold in Canada. Smoking cessation and disease information would appear elsewhere on the package or as inserts with the cigarettes.
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Survey Research
Surveys conducted in 1998 and 1999 for the Canadian Cancer Society found that when shown a warning with text only versus one with a photograph of a diseased lung, 72% of respondents said the diseased lung photo was a much greater deterrent to smoking than text alone. All demographic groups sampled found the large, photo-based warnings more effective than text-only warnings, with the most vivid clinical pictures also being the most discouraging.
A large part of this effort is aimed at reducing teen smoking rates. Smoking among Canadians age 15 to 19 rose from 21% to 28% during the 1990s, which is even higher than that seen in American teens. The Cancer Societys study also found that teens would be afraid to let anyone see their cigarette packs if they contained graphic photos and thus would be more motivated to quit.
In a response to the Canadian governments proposed regulations, Marie-Josee Lapointe, vice-president of the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers Council, said she "wasnt even sure that color photos could be printed on cigarette packages." Lapointe also said that the measure would expropriate their trademark and also probably backfire because "the uglier you make smoking, the happier teens are to do it because it nurtures their rebellious side."
Cunningham said that the new warnings and photos "take away from the social acceptability of a package. Kids are concerned with appearance, and who will be cool with a package like this?"
Stanton Glantz, Ph.D., University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine, and one of this countrys more outspoken anti-tobacco advocates, is fairly confident that Canadas new cigarette packaging laws will be the strongest in the world.
"Warning labels so far have only protected tobacco companies from litigation, but the Canadian labels may actually make a difference and act as anti-tobacco educational campaigns," Glantz said.
Labeling Issues
Labeling requirements for cigarettes vary from country to country, and U.S. regulations fall short of other nations efforts, Glantz said. He cited Poland as a country that has laws requiring labeling equivalent to the current 30% front-panel coverage required by Canadian law. One aspect of the varied regulations from nation to nation is that many of the cigarettes and their packages are manufactured in the United States. Camel cigarettes with Canadian warning labels are manufactured in the U.S. and shipped to Canada.
No one knows for sure if the new labels will be more effective than current labels or help reduce smoking rates more than alternative strategies such as tax hikes. Glantz said the new Canadian labeling regulations have "never been tried before, certainly couldnt hurt, and can only help in educating and possibly reducing smoking rates."
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