Rob Cunningham
Canadian Cancer Society
January 8, 2010

Click here to download a pdf copy of this international summary of health warnings.

Picture Warnings

At least 34 countries/jurisdictions have finalized requirements for picture warnings.  The listing below includes the year of implementation, including different years where there have been two or more rounds of picture warnings.

1.    Canada (2001)
2.    Brazil (2002; 2004; 2009)
3.    Singapore (2004; 2006)
4.    Thailand (2005; 2007; 2010)
5.    Venezuela (2005; 2009)
6.    Jordan (2006)
7.    Australia (2006; rotation of Sets A, B every 12 months)
8.    Uruguay (2006; 2008; 2009a; 2009b; 2010)
9.    Panama (2006; 2009)
10.    Belgium (2006)
11.    Chile (2006; 2007; 2008; 2009)
12.    Hong Kong (2007)
13.    New Zealand (2008; rotation of Sets A, B every 12 months)
14.    Romania (2008)
15.    United Kingdom (2008)
16.    Egypt (2008)
17.    Brunei (2008)
18.    Cook Islands (2008)1
19.    Iran (2009)
20.    Malaysia (2009)
21.    Taiwan (2009)
22.    Peru (2009)
23.    Djibouti (2009)
24.    Mauritius (2009)
25.    India (2009)
26.    Paraguay (2010; 2011; 2012)2
27.    Latvia (2010)
28.    Pakistan (2010)
29.    Switzerland (2010; rotation of Sets 1, 2, 3 every 24 months)
30.    Colombia (2010)
31.    Turkey (2010)
32.    Mexico (2010)
33.    Norway (2011)
34.    Malta (2011)

Many other countries/jurisdictions are in the process of doing so, or have stated that picture warnings are under consideration, including Bangladesh, Cayman Islands, France, Guyana, Iceland, Ireland, Macao, Mongolia, Philippines, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, South Africa, Vietnam, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and potentially Yemen), and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM, which includes Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize,  Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia,  St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago).

For more information, visit:
www.tobaccolabels.org
www.smoke-free.ca
www.graphicwarnings.org
http://tobaccofreecenter.org/resources/warning_labels

Notes
¹ Cook Islands: Warnings are to either comply with the Australian or New Zealand requirements (which include pictures), or to require 50% text warnings with specified messages in English and in Cook Islands Maori.  In practice, packages contain pictures as required in Australia/New Zealand.
² Paraguay: size will be 50%/40% in 2010, 50%/50% in 2011, and 60%/60% and yellow background in 2012.

Ranking of Countries/Jurisdictions for Largest-Sized Cigarette Package Warnings

Note: in the first column, the two numbers in parentheses indicate the size on the front of the cigarette package followed by the size on the back of the package.

Size - Average of Front and Back
80%   Uruguay (80% of front and back)
65%   Mauritius (60% of front, 70% of back)
65%   Mexico (30%, 100%)
60%   Paraguay (60%, 60%)
60%   Australia (30%, 90%)
60%   New Zealand (30%, 90%)
60%   Cook Islands (30%, 90%)
56%   Belgium (48%, 63%, including border)
56%   Switzerland (48%, 63%, including border)
55%   Thailand (55%, 55%)
52%   Finland (45%, 58%, including border)
52%   Ireland (45%, 58%, including border)
50%   Brunei (50%, 50%)
50%   Canada (50%, 50%)
50%   Chile (50%, 50%)
50%   Djibouti (50%, 50%)
50%   Egypt (50%, 50%)
50%   Hong Kong (50%, 50%)
50%   Iran (50%, 50%)
50%   Panama (50%, 50%)
50%   Singapore (50%, 50%)
50%   Albania (50%, 50%)
50%   Bolivia (50%, 50%)
50%   Cameroon (50%, 50%)
50%   Eritrea (50%, 50%)
50%   Madagascar (50%, 50%)
50%   Malaysia (40%, 60%)
50%   Brazil (100% of either front or back)
50%   Venezuela (100% of either front or back)
48%   unilingual EC countries (e.g. United Kingdom) that have properly implemented the EC Directive (43% of front, 53% of back, including border)
48%   Norway (43%, 53%, including border)
48%   Iceland (43%, 53%, including border)

Pending:
50%   United States (50%, 50%)


Size - Front of Package
80%   Uruguay    
65%   Turkey
60%   Mauritius
60%   Paraguay2
55%   Thailand
50%   Brunei
50%   Canada
50%   Chile
50%   Djibouti
50%   Egypt
50%   Hong Kong
50%   Iran
50%   Madagascar
50%   Panama
50%   Singapore
50%   Albania
50%   Bolivia
50%   Cameroon
50%   Eritrea
48%   Belgium
48%   Switzerland
45%   Finland

Note: The front of the package is more important because it is seen more often than the back of the package.