Deutsche Welle, 13 December 2012
Germans are
already warned in words that smoking is dangerous to their health and to those
around them. A major newspaper reports that soon, pictures of smokers' damaged
anatomies will seek to paint thousands of words.
German
mass-circulation paper "Bild" reported on Thursday that the European
Commission had agreed on a common policy for tobacco products, after months of
delay.
Saying it
has obtained a draft document from the EU's executive, Bild reported that more
explicit, pictorial health warnings would be placed on packets – along with a
ban on taste-enhancing additives such as those commonly found in menthol
cigarettes. Terms like "Light" would also be outlawed, along with
slim cigarettes, the paper said.
Cigarette
packets in Germany already carry warnings like "smoking can be
deadly" or "smoking causes considerable damage to you and people
around you," but countries like Australia and England have already
introduced a system whereby pictures of damaged lungs, gums, teeth and other body
parts are shown in photographs. The argument for such measures is that these
images provide a stronger message than written health warnings.
One size
fits all, no additives allowed
Bild
reported that these health warnings, comprised of a combination of text and
images, would take up three-quarters of the front and back of any packet of
cigarettes. Having taken consumer information on taxes levied into account, the
legislation would leave only around 20 percent of the packaging for the maker's
mark itself.
The new, uniform packaging introduced in Australian stores this month goes a small step further |
The
expected ban on artificial additives like caffeine, flavorings, vitamins or
coloring would likely outlaw the production of menthol cigarettes.
Bild's
information pointed to a minimum diameter of 7.5 millimeters for all
cigarettes, meaning that the slim brands - particularly popular among casual
smokers and women – would no longer conform to European rules.
Britain
introduced comparable rules, albeit with smaller images, in October 2008.
Australia, meanwhile, started placing large pictorial warnings on identical
olive brown cigarette packs - with the various brands written in identical font
- on December 1, 2012. This new Australian packaging is similar - though a
little more strictly regulated - than the information Bild said it had obtained
for Europe on Thursday.
The
British-based medical journal "The Lancet" published its "Global
Burden of Disease Study 2010" on Thursday, saying smoking was the world's
second-largest health risk on average around the world. The paper put smoking
behind high blood pressure, with alcohol third in the table.
msh/dr (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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