Pictorial warnings on three-quarters of cigarette packs will be phased in from 1 May, the Lao News Agency (KPL) said in a story citing the Health Ministry.

Initially the large pictorials were to have been introduced last October, however the Health Ministry pushed the date back to May at the behest of manufacturers. Dr Keungsaneth Phat, head of the Secretariat to the National Tobacco Control Committee, said the government expects non-compliant domestic and foreign cigarettes on the market on 1 May will have been sold within three months, KPL said.