For the first time, cigar
packages and ads will soon warn smokers
about the serious health risks of cigar
smoking. Whether you buy Coronas or Churchills,
Panatelas, Robustos, Lonsdales, or any other
kind of cigar, be on the lookout for five
new federally mandated health warnings.
The messages may sound familiar: Cigarette
companies have been required to give similar
health warnings since the mid-1960's and
smokeless tobacco manufacturers since the
mid-1980's.
The warnings follow a
report by the National Cancer Institute
detailing the health risks of cigar smoking.
Specifically, cigar smoking can cause cancers
of the mouth, esophagus, pharynx, larynx
and lungs. For smokers who inhale, the health
risks increase dramatically. Cigar smoking
also can cause heart disease and emphysema.
The warnings, which cigar
companies are required to rotate, include:
SURGEON
GENERAL WARNING:
Cigar Smoking Can Cause
Cancers Of The Mouth And Throat, Even
If You Do Not Inhale.
SURGEON
GENERAL WARNING:
Cigar Smoking Can Cause
Lung Cancer And Heart Disease.
SURGEON
GENERAL WARNING:
Tobacco Use Increases
The Risk Of Infertility, Stillbirth
And Low Birth Weight.
SURGEON
GENERAL WARNING:
Cigars Are Not A Safe
Alternative To Cigarettes.
SURGEON
GENERAL WARNING:
Tobacco Smoke Increases
The Risk Of Lung Cancer And Heart Disease,
Even In Nonsmokers.
Cigar companies will be
required to display these warnings clearly
and prominently on packages, in print ads,
on audio and video ads, on the Internet,
and on point-of-purchase displays. The point,
say federal consumer protection and health
officials, is to make sure that companies
disclose the health risks of cigar smoking
and that consumers understand that there's
no such thing as a safe smoke.
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive
and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information
to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a
complaint or to get free
information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov
or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The
FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related
complaints into
Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil
and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.