Cigarette Sellers Hide Warning To Boost Sales

[george]

Cigarette sellers hide warning to boost sales

CHIANG MAI: -- Cigarette vendors are attempting to undermine new and graphic health warnings on cigarette packets by hiding the images in a bid to boost sales, according to TNA reporter in Thailand's northern city of Chiang Mai.

Many vendors have reported a sharp drop in sales since legislation came in yesterday requiring cigarette packets to display graphic pictures of the damage caused to the human body by smoking.

Smokers are said to have been particularly scared by pictures showing the effect of cigarettes on dental health and oral hygiene, and of pictures showing smokers on breathing support machines.

One cigarette seller told the reporter today that smokers were desperately trying to find old packets without the warning pictures, and that many shops were papering over the pictures in order to hide them, keeping the packets out of sight in order to evade inspections by local officials.

Some shops, according to the seller, were even charging more for the old packets without the warnings on, making customers pay Bt45, rather than the usual price of Bt36 a packet.

However, the vendor said that smokers who found it unable to kick their habit were not put off by the images, despite their graphic nature.

--TNA 2005-05-25