Large new warning labels with shocking imagery must be placed on cigarette packages and advertising by October 2012, US government officials from the FDA announced Tuesday. The new labels feature disturbing pictures such as a dead body and a man exhaling smoke through a hole in his neck, along with sayings such as “Smoking can kill you” and “Cigarettes cause fatal lung disease.” The change comes after a 2009 laws passage, the first major change in cigarette labeling after the current black and white warnings where implemented over 25 years ago. The change follows other countries similar designs, many more graphic than those selected by the FDA.

Although the new labeling certainly wouldn’t encourage smoking, the effectiveness of such labeling is still up for debate. What’s your opinion on the new designs and whether they will work? [Read more...]