HOME |
RSS | 
Forget
the namby-pamby cigarette warning label we have here in the United States.
Here's a very graphic warning label from cartons of Malaysian clove cigarettes.
Alas, even these warning labels do not have much effect on smokers. From World Health Organization's Regional Office for the Western Pacific's smoking statistics:
- About half of all Malaysian men smoke.
- Every day about 50 teenagers below the age of 18 start smoking
- Studies show about 30% of adolescent boys (aged 12 to 18) smoke.
- Smoking among female teens is rising. According to two studies on teens conducted in 1996 and 1999, the numbers of female teens smoking rose from 4.8% to 8%. Overall, the 1999 study found nearly one in five teens smokes.
- Some studies have shown that lung cancer is rising at a rate of 17% a year.
- Although there are restrictions on advertising, tobacco companies have found ways to bypass these laws through using brand names and remain the top advertisers. Heavily advertised products include the Benson and Hedges bistro, Dunhill accessories, Marlboro clothing, Kent Horizon Tours and Salem Cool Planet concerts.
- Malaysia has been dubbed the "indirect advertising capital" of the world. Some of the tobacco industry's most blatant efforts to target young people can be seen here.
- Spending on tobacco advertising is extremely high. In 1997, the industry spent about $90 million, while in the year 2000, two tobacco firms alone reportedly spent more than US$40 million.
TYWKIWDBI has the larger pic: Link (as you'd imagine, the pictures are quite graphic - you've been warned)
Sacrebleu! French politicians are campaigning for a new law that will result in government health warnings on pictures that have been enhanced by photoshop:
Campaigning MP Valerie Boyer, of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP party, said the wording should read:"Retouched photograph aimed at changing a person’s physical appearance".
Mrs Boyer, who has also written a government report on anorexia and obesity, added: "We want to combat the stereotypical image that all women are young and slim.
"These photos can lead people to believe in a reality that does not actually exist, and have a detrimental effect on adolescents. "Many young people, particularly girls, do not know the difference between the virtual and reality, and can develop complexes from a very young age.
"In some cases this leads to anorexia or bulimia and very serious health problems.
"It’s not just a question of public health, but also a way of protecting the consumer."
– Thanks Tiffany!
