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The US will put the harshest pictures of the consequences of smoking on cigarette packages
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finalized the list of scary images that will become mandatory elements of cigarette pack design.
The agency's website says the introduction of such images will be the first change in the style of warnings in more than 25 years and "represents significant progress in communicating the dangers of smoking."
Previously, FDA specialists developed 36 variants of graphic warnings to be printed on tobacco product packages. These warnings are photographs and drawings depicting the negative consequences of smoking: tumors, tracheostomies, etc.
After reviewing more than 1,700 public comments, scientific literature, and a survey of 18,000 Americans, nine images were selected from 36. They have been approved by the FDA and must appear on all cigarette packages sold no later than October 22, 2012.
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