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The Cancer Society has warned consumers that New Zealand's tobacco industry will use a "bag of tricks" to undermine new graphic health warnings on cigarettes.
The Cancer Society of New Zealand said they welcomed the pictorial health warnings released by the Ministry of Health today.
The current text warnings on cigarette packets will be replaced by pictorial warnings, covering 30 per cent of the front of every cigarette packet and 90 per cent of the rear, from early 2008 the Government announced today.
Associate Minister of Health Damien O'Connor said: "The pictorial warnings will include images such as diseased lungs, gangrenous toes and rotting gums and teeth. They're designed to shock people into realising that smoking kills and causes serious illness."
Cancer Society tobacco control advisor Belinda Hughes said they were delighted the ministry had recognised the importance of the warnings but warned the tobacco industry would try to use "tricks" to get around the warnings.
"Why wouldn't they? Large graphic health warnings work. They're an important way of informing smokers about the health effects of smoking, strongly associated with the intention to quit," she said.
Calls to the Quitline in Australia increased by 171 per cent when they were introduced in Australia, showing how effective the health warnings could be in getting people to quit, she said.
Ms Hughes warned tobacco companies knew the new health warnings were an effective way to help get people to quit smoking.
"And they know that the new warnings undermine the marketing potential of cigarette packaging. No wonder they have gone to such lengths to undermine the introduction of the new warnings in countries like Australia."
Ms Hughes said amongst "the bag of tricks" used by tobacco companies were:
* sleeves and stickers to cover the warnings;
* tins and other holders to encourage people to transfer their cigarettes out of the packages;
* peel-off labels;
*stockpiling of packages with old warnings to slow the introduction of the new warnings.
"These ploys show the contempt with which the tobacco industry treats smokers," Ms Hughes said.
"Large graphic health warnings work, there is no doubt about it, and tobacco industry efforts to undermine them illustrate how little they care about actually informing smokers about the health effects of their smoking."
A representative for British American Tobacco did not return calls.
- NZPA, NZHERALD STAFF
