Graphic Warnings for Cigarette Labels

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Howard K. Koh, M.D., M.P.H.

N Engl J Med 2011; 365:e10August 4, 2011

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Graphic Warnings for Cigarette Labels.

Beginning in September 2012, the Food and Drug Administration will require larger, more prominent health warnings on all cigarette packaging and advertisements in the United States. These new labels mark the first change in cigarette warnings in more than 25 years and represent an important advance in communicating the dangers of smoking. The nine different text warnings and accompanying graphic images are designed to increase awareness of the specific health risks associated with smoking, such as addiction, lung disease, cancer, stroke, heart disease, and death.

A decade of experience in more than 30 other countries has demonstrated that such graphic warnings lead to an array of public health benefits. The warnings are more likely to be noticed than text-only labels, are viewed as more effective in communicating health risks to smokers, and are associated with increased motivation on the part of smokers to quit smoking. Integrating this effort with the other measures outlined in the 2010 tobacco-control action plan of the Department of Health and Human Services should maximize the public health benefit for the country.

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Dr. Koh is Assistant Secretary for Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC.