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Text your say: Pictorial warnings on cigarette packets
The killers: Cigarette packets featuring pictorial warnings are seen on display at a minimarket, following the government regulation on the issue that came into effect on June 24
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span class="inline inline-center">The killers: Cigarette packets featuring pictorial warnings are seen on display at a minimarket, following the government regulation on the issue that came into effect on June 24. JP/Don
Your comments on the government's new requirement for all cigarette manufacturers to put pictorial warnings on their cigarette packets to warn of the dangers of smoking, which has come into effect:
I have never got this. They are allowed to put warnings on packs but the government continues to allow the tobacco companies to use chemical additives.
The additives have only ever been tested as food additives. No tests have been done on what happens when you burn them.
France is the only country in the world to show the percentage of chemical additives on cigarette packets. Many American-style cigarettes contain as much as 10 percent chemicals.
I smoked for 35 years and also lived in France where the original Gauloises and Gitanes were (and still are, though not the American-style Gauloises Blondes) made with natural 'brown' tobacco only and no chemicals (strong, with relatively high tar and nicotine).
Old folk who had smoked Gauloises or Gitanes all their lives would give you a severe ticking off if you smoked American-style cigarettes.
They knew that it was the chemicals that did most of the damage, not the tobacco. I never got a smoker's cough when I smoked chemical-free cigarettes, and the overall effect on health from chemical-ridden cigarettes in comparison to chemical-free cigarettes was very clear.
The chemicals change the taste of cigarettes (and some make them more addictive), making them much more palatable to young would-be smokers, so ban the chemicals.
Fred Frogley
It is a good move but I think the tax needs to be increased so that young people will think twice before buying cigarettes.
Ridwan AN
Yogyakarta
