WHO felicitates Pakistan for enlargement of pictorial warnings

Islamabad
The Regional Director of the World Health Organisation, Eastern Mediterranean Region, Dr. Ala Alwan, has congratulated Pakistan for adopting 85% pictorial health warnings on the inside and outside of all tobacco products.
“I understand that this step is never easy in any country. Pictorial health warnings and plain packages have always been strongly opposed by the tobacco industry, and they do their utmost efforts to undermine and defeat it; Dr. Alwan has stated in a letter addressed to minister of state for health Saira Afzal, adding “however, I am certain that you can overcome all challenges ahead.”
Dr. Ala said, he has already asked the WHO Country Office in Pakistan to provide all needed support to the Ministry of Health for implementation of the decision. “Also, the Regional Office stands committed to support this major step that leads to protecting more lives from the devastating effects of tobacco use. I am looking forward to receiving the actual legislation to read it thoroughly,” he states in the letter.
“This is, by far, the biggest pictorial health warnings in the region, and one of the largest pictorial health warnings in the world,” Dr. Ala states in the commendation letter. The step is fully in line with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control guidelines of Article 11, where it is clearly indicated that “larger picture warnings are more likely to retain their effectiveness over time and are particularly effective in communicating health effects to low literacy populations, children and young people,” and that “Parties should consider using health warnings and messages that cover more than 50% of the principal display areas and aim to cover as much of the principal display areas as possible.”
Dr. Ala has congratulated Pakistan for taking two major tobacco control steps in a year i.e., the implementation of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) and enlargement or pictorial health warnings, both of which will reinforce Pakistan’s leadership in the area of tobacco control.