The Philippines to introduce graphic health warnings on cigarette packets
Cigarette packet in India
Tobacco brands in the Philippines are bracing themselves for a law that requires graphic health warnings to be placed on cigarette packets.
A bill was signed on Friday that will mandate one half of the packet space be stripped of branding and replaced with a health warning in picture form.
Images on packets will include internal organs damaged by smoking, a strategy used by health departments in countries such as India, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.
The new law is the latest action taken by the government against the tobacco industry in the Philippines. In 2013, President Benigno Aquino signed a “sin tax” bill to raise taxes on tobacco products.
Around 28 percent of adult Filipinos are smokers, according to research.
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