Horror photos go on New Zealand cigarette packs..

March 4, 2008 - Horror photos go on New Zealand cigarette packs.. Wellington - Cigarette packs bearing horror photographs of diseased lungs, gangrenous toes and rotting teeth went on sale in New Zealand Thursday (2/28/2008) as the latest move in a government anti-smoking campaign. The pictures are similar to those used on packets in other countries which have been credited with encouraging smokers to quit. 'We make no apology for these ugly, graphic photos,' said Associate Health Minister Damien O'Connor. 'They're designed to shock people into realising that smoking kills and causes a wide range of serious illnesses.' Nearly 600,000 New Zealanders out of a total population of 4.2 million smoke and officials say 5,000 die from smoking-related illnesses every year. Professor Janet Hoek, College of Business Massey University, says media cover has focused on smokers’ response to the images. “However, a key purpose of the pictorial warning labels – known as PWLs – is to deter young people from taking up smoking and to display smoking as abnormal behaviour. Some related News Briefs: Thailand Discouraging Tobacco Use - Horrific Images on the Packaging.. and Britain to put picture warnings on ALL tobacco products...