Ferliza C.
Contratista
CEBU CITY, May 19 (PIA)-- Statistics from the World Health
Organization (WHO) revealed that an average of 10 people die every hour due to
smoking. This is equivalent to 90 million deaths a year.
The Department of Health (DOH) pursues to widen the use of graphic
health warnings (GHW’s) on cigarette packs.
In a Kapihan sa PIA-Cebu recently, DOH7 Tobacco Control
Officer Josette Navarro said bolder and bigger GHWs will be a great help for
the smokers to notice the warning and will be discourage to continue the habit.
“These GHW will include images of a diseased mouth, and
suffering lung cancer patient and more of the ill-effects of dangerous
smoking,” Navarro said.
DOH7 pushes for the 70 percent of the total cigarette pack
printing on the cover however only 40 percent is being used. Navarro said
it is placed on the half lower back portion of the cigarette packs.
“If we compromise these warnings, smokers will still continue
their habits because some of these people are illiterates and having such big
GHWs will be helpful for their awareness” Navarro stated.
A smoker from Tejero, Maria (not her real name) said such
warnings are quite ineffective.
“I can't even see the warnings placed in the cigarette packs most
of the time,” Mayang said.
On the other hand, Jho from Danao City, who admits being an
occasional smoker said the warnings might be helpful to smokers and non-smokers.
However he said it depends on the person if he really wants to quit
smoking.
“Even if the cigarettes were made expensive for the consumers but
still there are a lot of buyers, perhaps the government should focus on
formulating something that would really awaken the public on the dangers of
smoking,” Jho said.
Republic Act. 10643 [or An Act to Effectively Instill Health
Consciousness through Graphic Warning on Tobacco Products] that mandated the
display of graphic health warnings on tobacco products.
Commonly used is the graphic image of a man exhaling smoke through
a hole in his throat as a warning was an adaptation of the one used by
the Food and Drug Authority of the United States.
The law requires cigarette manufacturers to use half of a cigarette
pack’s display area for pictures showing ill-effects of smoking. The graphic
health warnings should appear on the lower portion of the front and back panels
of cigarette packs.
May 31 is World No Tobacco Day. (mbcn/fcc/PIA7-Cebu/with reports
from Caren P. Gabisay, CNU Devcom Intern)