GRAPHIC Tobacco Warnings Will Soon Appear in the U.S.

by Dan

While it’s true that the tobacco industry and the tobacco lobby in Washington, D.C., are very powerful, they apparently are losing out to health-minded people and legislation. Bans against smoking are everywhere, and now the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is going to require all cigarette packages and advertisements, as of October 2012, to display graphic images such as the one in this blog post.

The so-called “graphic health warnings” will depict some of the negative effects of smoking, such as diseased lungs and mothers blowing smoke in their children’s faces.

“Today, FDA takes a crucial step toward reducing the tremendous toll of illness and death caused by tobacco use by proposing to dramatically change how cigarette packages and advertising look in this country. When the rule takes effect, the health consequences of smoking will be obvious every time someone picks up a pack of cigarettes,” U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg said in a prepared statement. “This is a concrete example of how FDA’s new responsibilities for tobacco product regulation can benefit the public’s health.”

Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said: “We want people to look on the side of cigarette packages and notice that cigarettes cause heart disease, lung cancer, emphysema, COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] and a host of other problems. We also want them to know that light smoking is not acceptable. Even one to three cigarettes a day triples the risk of heart disease.”

Other countries have already adopted the graphic-image warning and have seen a dramatic drop in smoking rates.

To view the proposed cigarette product warning labels, go to the FDA web page at http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/CigaretteProductWarningLabels/default.htm.

The FDA is seeking public comment on the proposed rule from Friday, November 12, 2010, through Tuesday, January 11, 2011. To submit an official comment during this time period:

Go to http://www.regulations.gov/ and insert docket number FDA-2010-N-0568 into the “search” box and follow the prompts.
Send a fax, with your comments, to 301-827-6870.
Mail/Hand-delivery/Courier (for paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions) to the Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

All comments should be identified by Docket ID No. FDA-2010-N-0568. It is only necessary to send one set of comments.

The bottom line? It’s definitely time to quit smoking. Save your health and money, and avoid further inconveniences as an “outcast” smoker. It is definitely no longer the cool thing to do. It’s time to get rid of your addiction.

The 7-day all-natural way to quit smoking is only $29.95 (nothing else to buy!), and it really works. Read about it at http://bestwaytoquitsmoking.com/.

Tags: best way to quit smoking, bestwaytoquitsmoking.com, FDA and smoking, Federal Drug Administration and smoking, graphic tobacco warnings, new cigarette warning labels