Starting in December, the warning images and phrases on cigarette packs will be made tougher. Health warnings on cigarette packs have been revised every two years since their first implementation on Dec. 23, 2016.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 21st that the notice on labeling, including warning images on cigarette pack packaging, will be revised on the 22nd. After a six-month grace period, the revisions will take effect on Dec. 23. The current fifth-cycle warning images will end on Dec. 22.
In the sixth-cycle warning images, sexual dysfunction will be removed and kidney cancer will be added. In addition, the warning images for oral cancer, heart disease, eye disease, peripheral vascular disease, and secondhand smoke will be changed.
Warning phrases that hinted at outcomes will also be made more direct. The existing phrase "road to lung cancer" will change to "the end of smoking is lung cancer," "road to heart attack" to "the end of smoking is heart disease," and "road to blindness" to "the end of smoking is blindness."
Phrases for two types of e-cigarettes will also change from "nicotine addiction, exposure to carcinogens!" to "nicotine addiction!" and "risk of cancer!"
The ministry plans to review regulatory policies in line with international standards—such as expanding image area, broadening the scope of products subject to warnings, and introducing standard packs without advertising (plain packaging)—to strengthen the effectiveness of future cigarette pack health warnings.