After reading What is Republic Act No. 10643 or “The Graphic Health Warnings Law”? , read also Restrictions on Tobacco Promotions under Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003
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Tobacco product packages shall have two (2) components: a photographic picture warning and an accompanying textual warning that is related to the picture
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The Graphic Health Warnings shall be printed on fifty percent (50%) of the principal display surfaces of any tobacco package
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The text warning shall be worded in such manner that an ordinary person will understand the ill-effects of smoking
T he Graphic Health Warnings Law or Republic Act No. 10643 (RA 10643) amended Section 13 on warning on cigarette packages of Republic Act No. 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003.
What are the warnings on cigarette packages under RA 10643?
The law says:
The Graphic Health Warnings Law is only applicable to tobacco products that are locally manufactured or imported and introduced in the Philippine market.
Any outside packaging and labelling, withdrawn from the manufacturing facilities, or imported into the Philippine customs territory shall bear the prescribed highly visible full-color Graphic Health Warnings, that shall have two (2) components: a photographic picture warning and an accompanying textual warning that is related to the picture.
The Graphic Health Warnings shall be printed on fifty percent (50%) of the principal display surfaces of any tobacco package. It shall occupy fifty percent (50%) of the front and fifty percent (50%) of the back panel of the packaging. Nothing shall be printed or applied on a location where it is likely to obscure or cover, in part or in whole, the Graphic Health Warnings or the location where the internal revenue strip stamp is to be affixed as required by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
No part of the warning may be obliterated, obscured, folded, severed or become unreadable when the tobacco package is opened or closed or when a wrapper on the package is removed.
What are the specifications on Graphic Health Warnings?
The law says:
The text warning accompanying the photographic picture warning shall be worded in such manner that an ordinary layman will understand what the picture is about and what the ill-effects of smoking are on the health of the smoker and on the people around him.
Also, the text warning shall be placed on areas of the photograph where it will not obscure the picture itself but will be prominently displayed. The text shall use no more than twenty percent (20%) of the entire area of the Graphic Health Warnings and shall appear in clearly legible type and in contrast by typograph, layout and color, without the use of any border, frame or any other design that will effectively lessen the size of the textual warning.
Furthermore, the accompanying text shall be printed in Filipino on the front panel and English on the back panel. In the case of other containers where there is only one (1) external surface area, the accompanying text will alternately be in English or Filipino.
Moreover, no cigarette packs or other tobacco product packages shall bear any number or descriptor such as, “low tar”, “light”, “ultra-light”, or “mild”, “extra”, “ultra”, and similar terms in any language that claims or misleads a consumer to believe that a tobacco product or variant is healthier, safer or less harmful.
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