Uganda stronger warnings on cigarette packs within 6-months..

November 12, 2008 - The government of Uganda has announced stronger warnings against smoking will appear on cigarette packets sold in the country starting within the next six months. The new warning, which is to take up a relatively big space on each cigarette packet, is to read: "Cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, heart diseases and death." This step towards curbing the tobacco epidemic was announced by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) as a new compulsory standard for labeling of tobacco products sold in the country.

The new, stronger wording is to appear in both English and Swahili and will now replace the old warning "Cigarette smoking can be harmful to your health."


Phillip Karugaba, spokesman of the civil rights group TEAN, commended the UNBS for finally issuing a stronger warning. But, he added, "although it is not to the standards required by the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), it is a start. We now have a stronger warning to smokers." Phillip Karugaba, spokesman of the civil rights group TEAN, commended the UNBS for finally issuing a stronger warning. But, he added, "although it is not to the standards required by the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), it is a start. We now have a stronger warning to smokers." The FCTC of which Uganda is a signatory requires warning labels to cover between 30 and 50 percent of each cigarette packet.

Reference: Uganda steps up anti-smoking campaign

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Click on image to enlarge.. - image from billboard in Uganda.