Every Cigarette Will Have A Warning Message, Because Packets Don't Work Anymore Say Scientists

We've had health warnings on cigarette packets since way back in 2003, when the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control began mandating it.

But now scientists say it may not be enough, and we might have to put them on individual smokes.

Reuters

A team of researchers from the James Cook University in Queensland, spoke to over 2,000 smokers and non-smokers about warning placements on cigarette packs, asking them about their personal opinion on how effective they are. According to their findings, people believe that warnings printed on individual cigarettes would be much more effective that just those printed on the pack.

"Improving the quality and volume of information that is out there is vital in ensuring that young people - who are much the target market for cigarette companies - are deterred from smoking, and current smokers are aware of the danger," said the study's lead author Dr Aaron Drovandi.

The team also explored what kind of messages would be the most effective to get people to quit smoking. And two of the most powerful messages is apparently telling someone how much their habit can cost them financially, or how many minutes it can take off their life.

James Cook University

According to Dr Drovandi, while warnings on cigarette packets can indeed be effective, they've largely lost their shock value over the years. "Cigarette packaging warnings which have been in place for quite a few years are still somewhat effective, but they have lost a lot of their effectiveness since they were introduced," the academic said.

"Cigarette stick warnings, which were novel and provided new information to participants, were seen as much more effective than the packaging warnings."

If these new warnings work it could potentially get thousands of people to quit smoking. For them, that means they're healthier, and just a little bit richer. But it's great for the rest of the world too, because it means less pollution.

Reuters

It's impossible to know just how many cigarettes are improperly discarded. But we do know an estimated 5.6 trillion filtered cigarettes are manufactured each year. And scientists guess that, while a few are discarded responsibly, about 4.5 trillion cigarettes are simply thrown away, eventually reaching the oceans.

And these filters are made from cellulose acetate, a plastic product that can take over 10 years to decompose. These cigarette butts are in fact the largest kind of plastic pollution entering the ocean each year.

The Ocean Conservancy group estimates that more than 60 million cigarette butts have been collected on the world's beaches in the past 32 years, most of which is from drains, streams, and rivers leading into the ocean.

Reuters

In addition to that, a study led by the Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, back inJuly, found that a cigarette butt can hamper the germination of shoots and development of plants when it enters the soil. Apparently cigarette butts cut down the germination success of grass by 10 percent and clover by 27 percent. They also stunt the shoots of the plants, reducing their length by 13 percent and 28 percent, respectively.

So we all have multiple reasons to not smoke, for our own good and the good of others as well. And maybe individual cigarette warnings just might be the way to go about achieving that.