Gruesome photos proposed for cigarette packets

Images, such as this one from Australia, could come to NZ. Source: Ministry of Health

The Government hopes gruesome photos of diseased lungs and gangrenous limbs will persuade 30,000 to 60,000 New Zealanders to quit smoking.

Associate Health Minister Damien O'Connor yesterday launched a Ministry of Health consultation document that proposes adding large photographic health warnings to cigarette packets.

Although the document stresses that no decision has been made yet, Mr O'Connor's description of the sample packaging - which included close-up photos of mouth cancers and blocked arteries - as "truth in labelling" indicated where his views lay.

"The facts are overwhelming that smoking cigarettes kills people and we have a responsibility as a Government to try and reduce that harm," he said.

"The messages are rather blunt. The pictorial warnings are rather graphic, they are horrible, but so too are the results of too many people who take up smoking."

Countries such as Thailand, Australia, Brazil and Canada already have photo warnings, and Mr O'Connor said Canada's photo warnings had played a large role in its smoking rate falling from 22 per cent to 20 per cent.

"If we can get a 2 per cent drop in the number of people dying each year...I guess that is a real improvement, but these things take time to flow through. We would be hoping to see a further drop in the prevalence rate in smoking across the country from this move."

Every 1 per cent drop in the New Zealand smoking rate equated to 30,000 fewer smokers, chief adviser for public health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said.

"Prevalence of smoking has dropped about 1 per cent over the past couple of years in New Zealand. We're down to about 23.4 per cent, but that's still quite a bit higher than other countries that have taken the approaches we have."

Not surprisingly, anti-smoking groups yesterday hailed the release of the discussion document as a major step forward while the tobacco industry questioned the need for new warnings.

British and American Tobacco spokesman Carrick Graham wondered whether the Government had already made up its mind on the issue and whether there would be properly open-minded consultation on the photographic warnings.

"We don't think they're justified, on the basis that there is universal awareness of the health risks of smoking in New Zealand," Mr Graham said.

"A lot of the concern is also around the expropriation of intellectual property of the companies in respect to its trademarks, when it's already got a health warning on it which says 'Smoking Kills' in both English and Maori and is very clear."

As a party to the World Health Organisation's convention on tobacco control, New Zealand is obliged to increase the size of health warnings on cigarette packets. The discussion document floats two proposals - giving over 30 per cent of the front and 90 per cent of the back of the packet to health warnings, or half of each side.

Australia has introduced the 30:90 option. Appropriate health warnings will also have to be placed on single cigars and loose tobacco.

The Quit Group, which runs the Quit Line stop smoking service, said graphic pictorial warnings were an effective anti-smoking tool.

"Evidence collected by the the Quit Group shows shocking and graphic images are the most effective way of encouraging smokers to quit," research manager Michele Grigg said.

"Many smokers experience fear and disgust."

The Smokefree Coalition said the bigger the warning, the better.

"We urge the Government to go even further and introduce picture warnings that cover 60 per cent of the front and 90 per cent of the back of the pack," director Mark Peck said.

Submissions close on June 13 and if the warnings are adopted they could adorn cigarette packets by the end of the year.


NZ smokers

* Around 24 per cent of NZ adults smoke.
* For Maori and Pacific Islanders, the rates are approximately 47 and 29 per cent respectively.
* Approximately 4500 New Zealanders die each year from smoking-related diseases.
* One in two New Zealand smokers dies early as a result of smoking and each of those who die early loses, on average, 13 years of life.
(Ministry of Health)