Why Does a Baby Appear on Cigarette Pack Warning Images Showing a Cigarette Butt in a Baby Bottle?

"Emphasizing that infants and adolescents are more vulnerable to secondhand smoke"
Effective from December 23

The Ministry of Health and Welfare revised and announced the notification regarding warning images and other labeling contents on cigarette pack packaging last June. This notification will be applied from December 23, following a six-month grace period. Photo by Ministry of Health and Welfare

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] As the government revised the guidelines for warning images and texts on cigarette packs for the first time in two years, concerns have been raised that the image showing a baby being given a milk bottle filled with cigarette butts is uncomfortable. In response, Kim Soo-yeon, Director of the National Smoking Cessation Support Center, explained, "The reason for featuring infants and toddlers is that young children and adolescents are more vulnerable to secondhand smoke."

Director Kim appeared on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" on the 30th and said, "The harm caused by secondhand smoke is greater than generally perceived, especially for children who are vulnerable. To emphasize this aspect more, we adopted this image. Globally, more than 8 million people die annually due to smoking, and among them, over 1 million deaths are caused by secondhand smoke."

Regarding the process of selecting the images, Director Kim stated, "Warning images and texts are finally decided and implemented by the Health Promotion Policy Deliberation Committee of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. We form a specialized smoking cessation policy committee consisting of experts from various fields to measure the effectiveness of each image."

She added, "Under domestic law, expressions that cause excessive disgust are avoided. If the images cause too much disgust, avoidance tendencies may arise, so we decide by considering the appropriate range and balance to raise awareness effectively."

In response to criticisms that the strengthened health risk warning images are uncomfortable, she said, "Other countries have much stronger images and expressions than ours. Smokers may feel uncomfortable because they encounter these warning images every time they buy the product, but those involved in smoking cessation campaigns have continuously requested the development of more effective warning images and texts to better inform about the risks of smoking."

Director Kim also explained that the warning images and texts on cigarette packs are a cost-effective policy. She said, "It is a highly cost-effective policy. The adult male smoking rate was 40.7% in 2016 when warning images were introduced, but it decreased to 30.4% as of 2020. Although this reflects comprehensive smoking cessation policies and changes in social trends, warning images have made a significant contribution."

Finally, Director Kim urged caution as secondhand smoke is especially harmful to children. She said, "Smokers are well aware that 'smoking is not good for health and is quite harmful,' but some do not seriously consider the degree of harm. It would be good to deeply recognize the health hazards when purchasing or smoking cigarettes. It is advisable to be careful to prevent secondhand smoke damage to children."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Welfare revised and promulgated the notification on the content of warning images on cigarette pack packaging in June. This notification will be applied from December 23 after a six-month grace period.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.