The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) presented this Friday (18), in a public hearing, in Brasiliathe images that will be inserted on the packaging of tobacco products, as well as on displays and displays of these products in commercial establishments.
The goal is to create stronger, more objective representations to reach audiences effectively.
According to the regulatory agency, health warnings on the packaging of smoking products need to be updated regularly to maintain their effectiveness in communicating the main health damages caused by the consumption of tobacco derivatives and, also, the substances responsible for these damages.
“These warnings represent one of the most effective health communication campaigns in the country, contributing significantly to public health policy in the fight against smoking”, says Anvisa in a note.
Alerts
The new graphic set brings seven new images that illustrate the damage to health caused by smoking: abortion, blindness, cancer or death and attributes to them awareness-raising messages related to despair, pain, anguish or death, for example.
The health warnings are in strong yellow tones to attract the public’s attention. The visualization of images that will be printed on the packaging of tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, pipe tobacco and chewable tobacco, are available at the link.
In the displays and displays installed in commercial establishments that sell tobacco products, the focus of the messages is on collective harm, with emphasis on the consequences of secondhand smoke or the threat to public health caused by tobacco consumption.
The advertising material will include QR Codes to direct interested parties to audio content about the warnings. The goal is to facilitate access for people with disabilities (PWD) to warnings about the risks of smoking.
Marketing pieces for showcases and displays of tobacco products can be viewed here.
Next steps
The proposals collected this Friday (18), during a public hearing, will be consolidated by a technical team to guide the preparation of a future Anvisa standard, to be voted on by the body’s Collegiate Board (Dicol).
Anvisa also informs that the directors will also define the frequency of changes, with an expected duration of two years for the new images, until 2027.
History
In Brazil, the warning notice model for tobacco products has existed since 2001 and has already undergone four updates in 2001, 2003, 2008 and 2017.
The country was the second to require images in health warnings, as recommended by the National Commission for Tobacco Control, following the World Health Assembly in 2000.
