Pictorial warnings on cigarette packs do work: PGI study in Punjab

A recent study conducted between December 2015 and March 2016 in Punjab revealed that the pictorial warnings on the cigarette and other tobacco packs have motivated the consumers to discard the tobacco consumption.

A recent study conducted between December 2015 and March 2016 in Punjab revealed that the pictorial warnings on the cigarette and other tobacco packs have motivated the consumers to discard the tobacco consumption.

The study teams were coordinated jointly by the experts from the Post-graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh and the Punjab state tobacco control cell.(Representative image)

This was revealed by Punjab principal secretary health Vini Mahajan, who said 97.4% of current tobacco users noticed the pictorial health warnings on packs, as per the study. Of these, 61.5% thought of quitting smoking after seeing the health warning. The warnings were noticed maximum in the age group of 25-44 years.

The study teams were coordinated jointly by the experts from the Post-graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh and the Punjab state tobacco control cell.

“This is quite significant since there was no recent study available anywhere in India showing decisively that pictorial health warning does help in behavioural change in current tobacco users to quit,” she added.