Romania Cigarette Packs To Include Both Text, Picture Warnings As Of July

On July 1, 2008, Romania became the second country in the EU bloc, after Belgium, to introduce picture warnings on cigarette packs. The images have been developed and selected by the European Commission, so that all Member States are to use the same pictures.

 

Romanian citizens responded favorable to the picture warnings, the Health Ministry said, mentioning that smokers’ awareness on health risks has increased significantly as well.

 

According to the ministry, the introduction of picture warnings led to a 53.5% increase in the number of smokers who consider giving up smoking, while the percentage of those who actually quit for at least 24 hours rose to 31.3% from 21.4%.

 

Some 16.4% of the smokers polled by the ministry said the picture warnings make them put out their cigarettes more quickly, a slight increase from 13.1% who were doing so before the introduction of image warnings.

 

In addition, 10.7% said they tend to smoke less often, while 24.4% changed their brand with a “lighter one.”

 

“Although changing the brand is not efficient and does not reduce health risks, it is a sign of an attitude change in the smoker: they are aware of the risks, but they are not ready to make the final step just yet,” the ministry said in its statement.

 

However, nearly half of the respondents (42.7%) said they were not influenced by the picture warnings. The respondents also said they use various “tricks” to reduce the visual impact: they do not look at the image (21.8% compared to 12.6% of those who were doing so when the warnings were text only), they cover the pack (23.6% vs 4.7%) or they ask for a pack with a different image (16% vs 2%).

 

 “In fact, all those gestures of avoidance reveal that combined warnings provoke a negative emotional reaction which they cannot handle unless they avoid visual contact, because they are not ready for the final step – to quit smoking,” the statement noted.

 

On the “No Tobacco World Day” Sunday, the World Health Organization (WHO) also underscored the positive impact of picture warnings, saying such warnings “have been shown to be particularly effective at making people aware of the health risks of tobacco use and convincing them to quit.”