TURKEY TO WARN SMOKERS IN WRITTEN AND VISUAL ON PACKAGES
TURKEY TO WARN SMOKERS IN WRITTEN AND VISUAL ON PACKAGES
ANKARA - Turkey will start warning smokers both in written and visual on packages as of 2010.
05 July 2009
The chairman of the Turkish Tobacco & Alcohol Market Regulation Board (TAPDK) said on Sunday that the board would start warning smokers in written and visual as of January 1, 2010.
"Besides written warnings, there will be 14 pictures on the cigarette and other tobacco product packages," chairman Mehmet Kucuk told AA correspondent.
Kucuk said the board would try to draw attention to the harms of cigarettes with this method.
There are actually 180 different types of cigarette packages in Turkey. All the packages will be changed with the visual warning system. The tobacco companies will renew their written and visual warning in certain periods.
Visual warning on cigarette packages is a system actually used in countries including Britain, Belgium, Romania, Brazil, Thailand and Singapore.
The European Union (EU) has 42 sample pictures for visual warning on tobacco products. Turkey is preparing to choose 14 of these pictures.
Researches indicate that visual warning has 20 percent effect on people who want to quit smoking.
