Australia cigarette packs to show graphic photos

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Australia cigarette packs to show graphic photos

Last Updated: 2004-06-25 13:24:00 -0400 (Reuters Health)

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian smokers will soon have to look at the

picture of a cancer-ridden lung or a gangrenous foot missing toes each

time they light up.

Following a trend pioneered by Canada, the government said it wants

cigarette companies to put graphic pictures and warnings on 30 percent

of the front of each pack and 90 percent of the back.

One gruesome photo shows a colour cross-section of a diseased lung.

Another shows a blackened foot missing a toe and the rest twisted.

" Smoking causes peripheral vascular disease, " it reads. A third shows a

dissected, bloodied brain with the caption, " Smoking doubles your risk

of stroke. "

" The experience in Canada showed there was a three percent drop in

smoking, " Trish Worth, parliamentary secretary for health, told

reporters. Canada introduced the warnings and pictures of diseased

organs in late 2000.

But Australian cigarette makers say the move will not alter smoking

patterns, and one called it a desperate tactic.

Health Minister Tony Abbott said cigarette companies would have 18

months to make the changes once the government announces them

officially.

Anti-smoking groups denounced the government for " caving in " to the

tobacco lobby and mandating only 30 percent of the packet's fronts for

photos, instead of 50 percent as in Canada.

" Concessions to the tobacco industry of smaller warnings on the front of

cigarette packs and delaying their introduction is a bad decision, " said

Alan Coates, chief executive of the Cancer Council Australia.

The government first set a date of June 2005 for the changes but

cigarette makers said they needed longer.

Manufacturers said the move was detrimental.

" The use of medically pornographic images, " had little impact on

Canadian smoking levels, said s, managing director of

Imperial Tobacco Australia Ltd. The tactic was " designed to placate

anti-smoking zealots as opposed to sensibly addressing the communication

of the health risks associated with smoking, " s said in a

statement.

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

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