Pictorial Warnings Fail to Deter Tobacco Use

The pictorial health warnings on the packets of tobacco products may be considered as an important tool to spread anti-tobacco messages, but a recent survey conducted in the State revealed that such health warnings on packages have little impact on the users. Among those who noticed the health warnings on the packages, only 37 per cent of cigarette smokers thought of quitting smoking cheap Karelia cigarettes in Assam, according to a survey conducted by Global Adult Tobacco Survey, India. Among the bidi smokers only 11 per cent and 14 per cent of smokeless tobacco users thought about stopping the use of such products because of the warning labels on respective packages. However, though there is ban on the advertisement of tobacco products at all public places except the point of sale, among all adults surveyed in the State, 24 per cent noticed advertisements or promotions of cigarettes, 22 per cent noticed ads promoting bidi and 25 per cent noticed ads of smokeless tobacco products like gutka etc. The survey also revealed that ban on the advertisements does not deter manufacturers of tobacco products from advertising. Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), India also shows that every fourth non-smoker was exposed to secondhand smoke at home and the same proportion of non-smokers were exposed to the same at work places. In spite of the law prohibiting smoking in public places, one-fourth of those who visited any public place, like public transport, restaurants, government buildings or health care facility were exposed to secondhand smoke. GATS, India conducted interviews with 15,259 adults in the Northeastern region, including 5,218 adults in Assam.