Philippines: Group Pushes to Put Graphic Warnings on Cigarette Packs

Source from:  Sun Star  11/18/2013

An anti-tobacco group said on Sunday that graphic warnings on tobacco products may reverse the trend of the illness in the country.

Picture-based warnings such as posters showing severed limbs and fingers of victims of firecracker explosions during the holiday season can be a better replacement of the text-only warnings on the dangers of smoking, said the New Vois Association of the Philippines (NVAP).

The Picture-Based Health Warning Bill re-filed by Senator Pia Cayetano at the 16th Congress that will mandate graphic health warnings on cigarette packs and other similar bills in Congress need urgent support, said Emer Rojas, the president of NVAP, in a phone interview.

A recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that hard-hitting pictures creates more impact to the people of diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds compared to text-only warnings that only the literate can understand. The study took reactions about the cigarette warning labels from more than 3,300 smokers in the United States.

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, lung cancer, one of the top causes of cancer deaths in the country can be preventable by quitting the smoking habit.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), at least 10 Filipinos die daily because of tobacco-related diseases.

The study also showed that 28.3 percent of Filipino adults are smokers, making the Philippines the second highest smoking population in Southeast Asia just next to Indonesia.

Rojas, an engineer who used to be a chain smoker, admitted that mass media influenced his generation on the concept of smoking, which was "cool" and "hip" before it turned to nicotine addiction. After surviving stage 4 lung cancer, he became an advocate against tobacco.

"Dapat maging aware na ang mga tao sa kung anong kayang gawin ng sigarilyo. Para hindi na dumami ang makaranas ng naranasan naming napakahirap," Rojas said.

"By discouraging smoking we will be able to also address cancer which is not only a burden to our health care system but is also a cause of productivity loss," he added.

NVAP is currently working with the DOH and other leaders of the society to conduct training and capacity building in different schools, companies, hospitals and other private institutions to raise awareness against tobacco addiction. Enditem