By the middle of this year, new graphic images will be introduced on cigarette packaging in the UAE. The hope is that these images will make smokers think twice before lighting up.
Let's be realistic here: smoking is an addiction and those who smoke will largely ignore the images simply so they can get the nicotine fix they so desperately crave and need. The images, however, will make those who don't smoke think twice before taking up the dirty and unhealthy habit. They need to be viewed as one element in the fight against smoking.
The initiative is part of a public education campaign hoping to raise awareness and change thinking over nicotine use. Tougher anti-smoking regulations assist, as do more and more of non-smokers making the habit socially unacceptable. But raising the cost of tobacco products through taxation to offset increased health costs is a proven method of making smokers kick the habit.
