Pictorial health warnings will address health hazards

The initiative undertaken by Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena to mandate pictorial health warnings covering 80 percent of the front and back of the tobacco packs, and to declare toxic substances contained in cigarettes, in each pack will substantially contribute in addressing the enormous health, social and economic harms caused by tobacco, which is detrimental to the well-being of the people and will undermine development initiatives undertaken by the government, Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) President Prof. Vajira H. W. Dissanayake said in press release.

He said they fully support the minister's initiative. “We also hope that this measure will be implemented without delay as new tobacco users are recruited each day, and people die from tobacco-related diseases each day”, Prof. Dissanayake said.

The release: Over 60 percent, of deaths world-wide are due to non-communicable diseases (NCD). The four main NCDs are cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic lung diseases. Nearly 80 percent of non-communicable disease deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries. The four main risk factors identified for these deaths are tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity.

Tobacco is a leading cause of three of the main NCDs – cardiovascular diseases, cancers and chronic lung diseases. Tobacco use is considered to be one of the biggest threats to public health that the world has ever faced. It is responsible for 6 million deaths each year worldwide. Of these, 600,000 are non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke. One in two of current users will eventually die of a tobacco-related disease

In Sri Lanka, the number of people dying each year due to tobacco has been estimated to be between 12,000 and 20,000. In addition to deaths alone, there are a large number admitted to hospital with chronic tobacco related diseases. Money spent on purchasing tobacco and expenditure incurred in obtaining treatment, in addition to forgone income from losing work is a substantial contributor to poverty. Each of these deaths and the other consequences are preventable. Many countries have implemented evidence based measures to reduce tobacco use. One of the important measures undertaken to educate smokers of the harms of tobacco use is mandating pictorial health warnings on tobacco products. Other measures include discontinuation of all forms of advertising, sponsorships and promotions, increasing the taxes on tobacco to reduce affordability and banning smoking in public places.

The National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act No. 27 of 2006. which is one of the most important acts enacted in this country to improve the health and well-being of the people aims to reduce the enormous health, economic and social harms of tobacco. This Act mandates that health warnings to appear on tobacco packages to be prescribed by the Health Minister.

Large, clear pictorial health warnings increases quitting, and more importantly, prevent children and young people from taking up smoking; Larger the warning, the larger the impact. It also makes it difficult for the tobacco industry to display cigarette packs attractively at sales points, including supermarkets. Around 50 countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Africa have already implemented this measure despite dogged opposition by the tobacco industry.

The international response to the epidemic has been decisive. The international convention, The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control entered into force in February 2005. Since then, it has become one of the most widely embraced treaties in the history of the United Nations with more than 170 parties. Sri Lanka was the fourth country in the world to ratify this. Mandating large and clear warnings are one of the measures that this treaty binds its parties.