Images have also been seen to be far more effective than text

The government and health authorities of the United Kingdom are stepping up the campaign to stop people smoking. Following on from the new smoking ban in public places a new initiative will mean that cigarette packets will now contain images showing exactly the damage that smoking can cause. Clear images will now be printed on all cigarette packets showing the effect of cigarette smoke on the heart, lungs and other areas of the body.

The pictures will be sort of images that will make you cringe every time you pick up a cigarette. The UK government has said that from October 2008 all cigarette manufacturers will have to start adding the images onto their products. Fifteen images have already been chosen by a panel and will also be accompanied by the existing warnings that are already found on cigarette packets.

Antismoking campaigners say they are very happy that the government is doing this and they said that other countries that had introduced the same initiative had managed to lower the number of people smoking in their nations. Images have also been seen to be far more effective than text in reminding smokers of the damage that smoking can do.

Not content with this the English and Welsh health authorities are also going to increase the legal age for buying cigarettes from the age of sixteen up to eighteen meaning that cigarettes and alcohol will be in the same category. At Ukmedix News we welcome the new initiatives shown by the government and we are sure that the new images will greatly reduce the number of people who smoke. 

Not everyone is happy with this new antismoking campaign especially the group called Forest that acts as a lobby group in favour of smoking. Forest said that the government was bullying smokers and many smokers felt victimised these days.