The ministry of health of Canada has today unveiled new warning labels for cigarette packs, along with several other images that will appear on packages of small cigars.

Along with the 16 health warnings there will be eight health information messages on the inside of the pack and four "easier-to-understand" toxic emissions statements.
The warnings will increase in size from 50 per cent to 75 per cent of the front and back of cigarette and little cigar packages. The ministry bills them as “new, high-impact warnings that are more noticeable, memorable, and engaging.”
The new packages also must display a Canada-wide toll-free quit line telephone number.
Following publication in Canada Gazette on 19 February there will be a 75-day public comment period on the proposed regulations.
The draft regulations provide that the new warnings would be required on packages at the manufacturer and distributor levels by the end of the year and at the retail level by March 2012.
In addition to the labelling changes, the ministry of health is developing a social marketing campaign targeting smokers, including young adults. Multimedia, including social networks across the Web, will be used to reach teenagers and young adults.
The new cigarette warnings come after 10 years of the same warnings on cigarette packages. Health policy experts argued the old warnings had lost their impact. Government research found the old warnings were failing to reach people with low literacy skills, older smokers and hard-core smokers.
The government's goal is to reduce smoking prevalence from 19 per cent to 12 per cent. (pi)