The International Coalition for Tobacco Control is urging all the parties involved in this association to make sure that the mandatory rotation health warnings sanctioned by the World Health Organization are being displayed on cigarette packs. This is one of the practical steps that was previously mandated by the WHO and its Framework Convention On Tobacco Control or FCTC. According to this mandate, a comprehensive ban on tobacco and tobacco products should have been followed in early 2009. However, of the 40 countries that have signed the FCTC, many are instigating "delaying tactics" that have noticeably pushed back compliance on the said directive.
Just this week the Pakistan division of the Coalition For Tobacco Control said that the revised tobacco advertising and warning guidelines were important for reinforcing tobacco control in the country. They are hoping that these guidelines would improve the compliance of tobacco manufacturers for the tobacco control laws, restricting the advertisement of such products on electronic and print media on a nationwide scale.
Back in 2010, the introduction of pictorial health warnings on the packages of cigarettes and other tobacco products was considered as an important step towards letting the public know about the health hazards that are often associated with tobacco use. The World Health Organization endorses the use of PHW's citing that they are cost-effective means of building up public awareness about the dangerous effects of tobacco use. According to the World Health Organization FCTC, these PHW's must be displayed in full color pictograms that must be easily seen on the product as part of their labeling and packaging requirements. These rotating health warnings were designed to be shared among the countries that were part of the FCTC and updated regularly as all the parties involved provide the required images.
Health leaders from countries involved in the Coalition for Tobacco Control are looking forward to the enforcement of these guidelines that, they say, must be accompanied with strict laws against non-compliance.
