Manama: Graphic images illustrating the effects of smoking cigarettes or shisha will be displayed on cigarette packets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries next year, a Saudi news portal reported.
According to Sabq, the GCC standards commission has approved the initiative to put the images on cigarette packets to warn about the health risks of smoking and shock smokers into quitting. The implementation will start in August 2012.
It is hoped that the images will help deter people from smoking and will have a stronger impact that the warning words that were reportedly largely ignored by smokers.
The shocking illustrations will also reach a higher number of people, especially children and those who do not know how to read, the portal said.
The pictorial warning will take up half of the packet size and will be on both sides.
