Text admonitions on cigarette packs are not deterring Chinese smokers, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report that urges adoption of large pictorial warnings.

“Our research in China shows that the current text-only Chinese health warnings are very ineffective. Revising the current health warnings in line with the WHO FCTC and its Guidelines would increase awareness about smoking-related harms in China, and encourage Chinese smokers to quit. With its more than 300 million smokers, there is an urgent need for China to introduce policies that the evidence shows work,” said Professor Geoffrey Fong of the University of Waterloo in Canada, a co-author of the report.
More stringent health warnings also are likely to be popular with the public, WHO said in a statement. At least 281 million people in China smoke, representing 28 per cent of the adult population.