Health warnings to be imprinted on HNB cigarettes

By Kim Jae-heun

The government has decided to implement pictorial health warnings on heat-not-burn (HNB) e-cigarette boxes as part of moves to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Monday, it has selected 12 pictorial warning labels and messages that will be printed on the packs starting Dec. 23, replacing previous graphic warnings.

The ministry added the pictorial health warnings will include a picture of a cancer cell accompanied by a message saying “heat-not-burn e-cigarettes addict you to nicotine and expose you to carcinogens.”

“According to the latest study by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, various cancer-causing agents like benzopyrene and benzene were detected in HNB cigarettes,” a ministry official said.

“The ministry has concluded that the HNB cigarette companies' argument that their products are less harmful than traditional cigarettes lacks evidence.”

The health ministry already revealed their new graphic warnings for HNB cigarette packs from May 14 until June 4 to gauge public opinion.

In response, cigarette manufacturers, distributors and smoking groups submitted eight dissenting opinions against the government's decision. They requested the government use less provocative graphics or erase numbers linked to mortality risk and disease.

However, health experts and civic groups submitted 143 opinions of agreement supporting the government. They even asked to enlarge the size of the graphics.

The government first adopted the policy to print pictorial warning labels on Dec. 23, 2016. Graphic warnings should cover over 30 percent of the space on the front side of the package and over 20 percent on the back. It made cigarette companies change graphics every two years to maintain the effectiveness of the campaign.

A total of 105 countries have adopted the policy to print graphic warning on cigarette packaging.

Meanwhile, the ministry also revealed new anti-smoking ads to be distributed around public transportation. It constitutes three series messages that secondhand smoking can harm others.