In a press conference today, the White House announced that beginning in 2012, the FDA will require larger, more prominent cigarette health warnings on all cigarette packaging and advertisements in the United States. This marks the first change in cigarette warnings in more than 25 years and is a significant advancement in communicating the dangers of smoking. Social workers – particularly those working in health care settings – are well aware of the enormous toll that tobacco use places on our nation. Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, killing more than 400,000 Americans and costing $96 billion in health care expenditures each year. “NASW applauds this much-needed boost in the effort to educate Americans – especially our young people – about the deadly consequences of smoking,” says NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark, PhD, ACSW, MPH.
To see the new cigarette package health warnings, click on this link:
http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/CigaretteWarningLabels/default.htm
