WHO suggests graphic warnings in tobacco control

Smoking is a big problem in China, the world's largest tobacco consumer, and now the World Health Organization (WHO) wants tobacco warning labels to be more vivid.

Experts said China's text warnings, such as "Smoking is hazardous to your health," no longer reduce smoker numbers, and need to be replaced by graphic warnings.

The suggestion comes from a report by WHO and the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project on Tuesday. The report said China can bring down the number of smokers with more large format graphic warnings on packaging.

Dr. Bernhard Schwartlnder, WHO representative in China, said smokers have a better chance of noticing graphic health warnings.

Liang Xiaofeng, vice director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that smoking-related diseases severely threaten public health and graphic warnings may be the most direct and effective way to curb smoking.

It is estimated that China has more than 300 million smokers and there are more than 1 million deaths related to smoking every year.