Will gross pictures on cig packs be effective warnings?

Filipinos can’t seem to agree on the issue of placing graphic warnings on cigarette packs. In a report on GMA News’ “Saksi," Pinoy netizens voiced their opinions through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV For Vohn Andrae Sarmiento, nothing beats the impact of powerful images. “People rarely read. That's why visual stimuli… [attract more] since you don't have to use a lot of comprehension to understand the message," he said. The same concept was on Ang Kasangga Representative Teodorico Haresco's mind when he filed a bill late in 2010 to use picture-based warnings on the packages of tobacco products. [http://www.gmanews.tv/story/206962/solon-pushes-for-picture-based-warnings-on-cigarette-packs] Another user, Melissa Reyes Ureta believed that placing graphic warnings are crucial for people to be informed. “y not.let this serve as a warning,& also 4 der awareness bec.Many pip nowadays start [smoking] at [a] very young age,not nice.educate pip," she said via Twitter. According to the World Health Organization, one out of three Filipinos 15 years old and above smoke. The Department of Health (DOH) has long been campaigning to require the placement of graphic health warnings on tobacco products. In May 2010, the DOH issued an Administrative Order that prevented tobacco product packaging and labeling from deceptively promoting tobacco use. The move, however, was met with staunch opposition by the tobacco industry. The Philippine Tobacco Institute argued that the order violated the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003. The act prohibits the printing of any other health warning on cigarette packs other than those specified by law, the group asserted. Early this year, five former Health secretaries asked the Supreme Court to validate the DOH order. Richard Agustin on Twitter, meanwhile, had a more pessimistic view. "i think that won't be effective [for] the pinoys... though the program is nice... not unless the gov't is really serious [about] it...," he said via Twitter. Last May, the Metro Manila Development Authority imposed a ban on smoking in public places in Metro Manila. President Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III, a smoker himself, expressed his support of the move, but said that he would only quit smoking at the “appropriate" time. One user was more radical in her view. Facebook user Van Evangeline Ibanez wrote, “TOTAL ban of CIGARETTES will be the best solution." — Bea Cupin/VS/HS, GMA News