Warning Labels on Cigarettes Save Lives

WARNING: This May Save Your Life

Warning: Cigarettes are addictive. Warning: Tobacco smoke can harm your children. Warning: Cigarettes cause fatal lung disease. Warning: Cigarettes cause cancer. Warning: Cigarettes cause strokes and heart disease. Warning: Smoking during pregnancy can harm your baby. Warning: Smoking can kill you. Warning: Tobacco smoke causes fatal lung disease in nonsmokers. Warning: Quitting smoking now greatly reduces serious risks to your health. These health risk warnings will be applied to United States cigarette packages in October of 2012. Along with each warning, a disturbing picture will be included and printed on cigarette packages. When glancing at these packages, how can you not help but ask yourself, ”Why in the hell would anybody smoke cigarettes?” Regardless of how bold the warnings are, people are still smoking. There has, however, been a substantial decrease in smokers in the United States.

The first health risk warning applied to a cigarette package in the United States in 1966. It was as simple as, “Caution: Smoking may be hazardous to your health.” As you can see, health risk warnings have evolved over the last few decades. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration are constantly proposing new advertisements and warnings. Cigarette packages are covered in health risk warnings, as these labels occupy fifty percent of packs. Before the 1970’s, cigarette brands were avid TV sponsors of many television programs. Winston was known for their popular television slogan, “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should!” It would be absolutely absurd to hear or see any type of advertisement like this today. In 1971, the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act was passed, and banned television advertising of cigarettes. Tobacco companies began to sponsor sporting events because of their exclusion from television advertisements. In fact, what is now known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, was formerly known as the Winton Cup Series. Eliminating the positive advertisements of cigarettes was big step in reducing the amount of smokers. Tobacco companies were targeting teens and stressing to smokers that cigarettes were “cool”. The Marlboro Cowboy was an icon and increased cigarette sales prior to the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act. Companies have lost most of their advertising options, which has attributed to the decrease in smokers. Since the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act was passed, legislation has also eliminated smoking in public places like restaurants, transportation centers, and municipal offices. Cigarette companies and smokers are slowly having every freedom taken from them. How long will it be until smoking cigarettes is illegal?

Anti smoking advertisements have been making a push lately with many gruesome advertisements and commercials. The Food and Drug Administration recently released 36 proposed the new warning labels for cigarette packs that include a picture. Many of the pictures they included were disturbing, almost taking the pictures too far. One of the pictures included a mother holding her child in one arm and a cigarette in her other hand. The mother is also blowing smoke directly into her child’s face. A photo like this seems completely unrealistic because it is highly unlikely that a mother would do such a thing to her child. There is also another photo of a deathly ill person without hair, lying in a hospital bed. Next to the photo, in bold reads, “ Warning: Cigarettes cause cancer.” These are just a few of some very gruesome photos. To someone who doesn’t smoke or hasn’t been exposed to much smoking, appalling photos like these would deter them from smoking.

Teenagers are the most influenced group in the United States and in most parts of the world. Teens are new to the world around them and are constantly trying new things. The legal age to smoke cigarette is 18, but most chain smokers began smoking before the legal age limit. Teenagers are often strongly influenced by their peers and whom they surround themselves with. Studies have shown that teens whose friends smoke are nine times more likely to smoke than those whose friends do not smoke. Raising the price of cigarettes is also decreasing the amount of smokers, particularly in the younger community who have yet to make a steady income. The tax on cigarettes varies in different states. Missouri has a cigarette tax of only 17 cents, where as New York has a tax of $4.35 per pack. Many advertising efforts have been made to help prevent teens from smoking. Above The Influence is an organization that focuses their advertising and messages towards teenagers to prevent them from tobacco, drug, and alcohol use. Many commercials have been made by Above The Influence, showing the dangers that may come when indulging in such activities. Visually unsettling commercials make an impact because of the amount of television teens watch today. Teenagers will continue to be the area of focus by tobacco prevention organizations because they want to make an impact before its too late.

Many steps have been taken to reduce the amount of cigarette smokers in the United States. Increasing the prices, eliminating positive tobacco advertising, and increasing the amount of anti tobacco advertising. After 20 years of a constant decline in smokers, the number of smokers has leveled out at about 25 percent of adults in the United States. The plateau in smokers has led to the new health risk warnings and pictures that will be attached to cigarette packages in October, 2012.

Smokers who smoke one pack a day will be exposed to the health risk warnings 7,300 times a year. Also, smokers who smoke a pack a day will spend about $1,825 a year on cigarettes in California. There are about 46.6 million smokers in the United States today. Approximately half of those smokers will die prematurely due to their addiction, according to the website tobaccofreekids.org. It is staggering to think that about 443,000 people will die due to their addiction. In 2010 extensive research was done regarding cigarette warning labels. Health warnings with large graphic pictures were proven to be the most effective in gaining the smokers attention of the health risk, thus giving them a higher chance of quitting. Text-only warning labels are still beneficial, but are not as effective as commercials and large graphic advertisements. Because a picture will be included on cigarette packages in October of 2012, there is reason to believe that the percentage of smokers will begin to decrease. Kathleen Sebelius, who is the Health and Human Services Secretary, has hopes reduce adult smoking rates in the U.S. from 25 percent to 12 percent by 2020. With the addition of the new health risk warnings and continued efforts to prevent teen smoking, there is no reason for the goal set by Sebelius not to be attained.

Countries around the world are well aware of the health risks in smoking, and have also taken steps to decrease smoking. Canada, Brazil, and the United Kingdom have recently required all cigarette packages to include graphic pictures. In fact, many of the pictures are more gruesome than the proposed photos by the FDA. The United States has followed the lead of these countries as their citizens have become more aware of the health risks, when seeing large graphic pictures on cigarette packs. With proven results, more countries will make similar changes to cigarette packs to decrease the amount of deaths due to smoking. Aside from saving lives, countries will be saving money also. According to the University of New Hampshire, studies have recorded the United States spends over $100 billion a year on health problems directly related to smoking. Clearly, smokers have no reason to argue with the always increasing price of cigarettes. Despite the high tax that is included in buying cigarettes, the $100 billion dollar bill cannot be paid. Decreasing smoking would decrease our healthcare bill, thus improving our economy.

Reducing smoking will not fix our economy, but money that goes towards the $100 billion bill could be spent towards more useful things. “Although we are constantly exploring the subject, currently there is no direct evidence that links cell phone usage to brain cancer.” This is a quote taken from the movie, Thank You For Smoking. Nick Naylor, a smooth talking spokesman for The Academy of Tobacco studies, uses this quote as an analogy to smoking and it’s linkage to lung cancer. His job is to use his words to convince the public that cigarettes really aren’t that bad for you.

“My mommy says smoking kills.”

“Oh, is your mommy a doctor?”

“No.”

“A scientific researcher of some kind?”

“No.”

“Well then she’s hardly a credible expert, is she?”

This is a conversation that Nick Naylor has with a small child while discussing his job in front of his son’s class. Although this might be a bit brutal for a small child, this conversation raises some valid points. How do we know that the actual health risks advertised to us are actually true? After all, we aren’t all doctors or scientific researchers. According to associated.com, there are some health benefits to smoking. Smoking cigarettes has been known to alleviate symptoms of mental illness including anxiety and schizophrenia. There are also multiple academic sources stating that Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease is higher in non-smokers than smokers. Smoking can also be used as an appetite suppressant, and could help treat people who have an over-eating disorder. These are all benefits that are unknown to much of the public thanks to the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act. Tobacco companies have absolutely no way of offering these benefits because of their inability to advertise.

“People, what is going on out there? I look down this table, all I see are white flags. Our numbers are down all across the board. Teen smoking, our bread and butter, is falling like a shit from heaven! We don't sell Tic Tacs for Christ's sake. We sell cigarettes. And they're cool and available and addictive. The job is almost done for us!” This is a statement from Nick Naylor’s boss. Now we are aware that Thank You For Smoking is a movie, but you can’t help but think this is what actually goes on at tobacco companies. They know that they are helping kill thousands of Americans, but after all, it is their job. Since the introduction of health risk warnings on cigarette packs in 1966, smoking has decreased. Around 45 percent of adults were smokers prior to the first link between lung cancer and smoking. As health risk advertisements have remained the same the past few years, so has the amount of smokers in the United States. It is evident that there is a direct link between health risk warnings and smoking. If this is true, then there will be a decline in smokers as of October, 2012. (The release of new health risk warnings with graphic picture.) Also, the continued efforts to target teens will contribute to the anti-smoking effort. There is reason to believe that the new health risk warnings will have the largest

effect on teens. Teenagers will absorb the message of the health risk with much more seriousness with the addition of a ghastly picture. Not only will the new health

risk advertising prevents teens from starting smoking, but it will also get current smokers to quit. A change in advertising will catch the smoker’s attention and will associate themselves with the picture provided on the cigarette pack. These changes will benefit everybody from children, to grandparents. The future will be much brighter, as we will have a healthier and wealthier America.