Russia Prints Health Warnings on Cigarette Packs

Russia has decided to introduce the first time health warnings on all cigarette brands packs. Many people smoke in this country a lot that is why there was necessary to introduce these warnings. Cigarette warnings became mandatory starting from last Saturday. On every cigarette pack have to be printed messages which represent tobacco-related diseases.

The social development said that tobacco manufacturers will be able to sell cigarettes with no warnings by next year. The new laws represent an important part of Russia’s anti-tobacco campaign. Tobacco producers must print messages like: “smoking kills” to inform people about the danger of the cigarettes on people’s health. Smoking has bad effects on the smoker and on the persons who are next to him because of the second hand smoking.

The most important message which should be on cigarette packs is “Smoking kills”. It should be printed in a black frame and should cover not less than 30 percent of the front and the additional message should cover not less then 50 percent of the back.

In general there are 12 important statements like:”Smoking can lead to impotency”, “Keep children away from tobacco smoke”, “Smoking causes heart attacks and strokes”, “Smoking can cause lung cancer” and .

Tobacco producers can change all those messages once a year and also can print next to them with graphics and pictures. The same regulation is requiring the cigarette manufacturers to show the resin contained in cigarettes and the amount of nicotine. On June 22 was established that the carbon monoxide in smoke which is coming from a cigarette with filter should not more than 10 milligrams.

Over 60 percent of men who live in Russia are smokers, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and almost 400,000 smoking Russians die because of tobacco-related diseases annually.