Tobacco health warnings

All retail tobacco products must carry health warnings. These health warnings are placed on tobacco products to deter smokers from continuing tobacco consumption.

On this page

• Health warnings
• Risks

Health warnings

Health warning labels must:

• contain prescribed graphics
• include a warning statement, explanatory message and/or and information messages
• be frequently rotated.

The health warning must cover 75 per cent of the front and 90 per cent of the back of a cigarette packet. Cigars and other tobacco products have their own specific requirements for health warnings.

Risks

Using tobacco products has been linked to a variety of illnesses, including:

• lung cancer
• throat cancer
• pancreatic cancer
• stomach cancer
• kidney and bladder cancers
• acute chest illnesses and diseases
• chronic chest illnesses and diseases
• lung illnesses and diseases
• stomach ulcers.

Non-users, particularly children, can also suffer serious illness if they are exposed to second-hand smoke. Women who use tobacco products during pregnancy expose their children to the risk of serious respiratory illnesses. Children exposed to second-hand smoke also have an increased risk of these illnesses, including:

• reduced lung function, especially for infants
• an increase in lower respiratory tract infections during infancy
• impaired lung growth 
• the risk of developing more serious respiratory diseases in later life.