Smoking:consequence

Still Want To Smoke? Look And Decide

(RTTNews) - Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is estimated that 46 million people, or 20.6% of adults (aged 18 years and older), in the United States smoke cigarettes. Cigarette smoking accounts for about 443,000 deaths, or 1 of every 5 deaths, in the U.S. annually.

A report released by the Center for Disease Control, or CDC for short, last month (May, 2011) said that prominent, pictorial warnings on cigarette packages can motivate smokers to quit and discourage nonsmokers from starting. In line with the findings of the CDC report, the Food and Drug Administration has unveiled a final set of cigarette health warnings containing nine different text and graphic warnings to communicate the dangers of smoking.

The final nine images were selected by the FDA from the originally proposed 36 images after reviewing the relevant scientific literature, analyzing the results from an 18,000 person study and considering more than 1,700 comments from a variety of groups, including the tobacco industry, retailers, health professionals, public health and other advocacy groups, academics, state and local public health agencies, medical organizations and individual consumers.

The new health warnings on all cigarette packaging and advertisements in the United States will come into effect beginning September 2012. The FDA in a statement said that the new prominent warnings mark the first change in cigarette warnings in more than 25 years.

Dangers of nicotine addiction, health problems in children and adults associated with secondhand smoke, the risk of developing diseases such as emphysema, bronchitis, chronic airway obstruction, lung cancer, strokes and heart disease, risks associated with smoking during pregnancy and the impact of smoking on mortality are depicted through the text and graphics of the new warning labels. Each label will also carry a smoking cessation phone number, 1-800-QUIT-NOW, encouraging smokers to call the quitline.

The introduction of the new labels is expected to have a significant public health impact by decreasing the number of smokers, resulting in lives saved, increased life expectancy, and lower medical costs. Note that smoking is said to cost the American economy almost $200 billion a year, in medical costs and lost productivity.

Commenting on the changes being made to cigarette warning labels, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said, "President Obama is committed to protecting our nation's children and the American people from the dangers of tobacco use. These labels are frank, honest and powerful depictions of the health risks of smoking and they will help encourage smokers to quit, and prevent children from smoking. President Obama wants to make tobacco-