A new global report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has found that the vast majority of health warning captions on tobacco packaging focus on personal health consequences, with cancer emerging as the most prominently featured disease.
In a thematic analysis of 574 tobacco health warning captions, the WHO report reveals that 67 per cent of the messages warn of personal health effects, a tactic deemed highly effective in persuading smokers to quit or preventing others from starting.
Among these, cancer was the most common disease cited, appearing in 22 per cent of the captions.
“These warning labels are more than just design elements. They are powerful public health tools that save lives,” said Dr. Rüdiger Krech, Director of Health Promotion at WHO.
“The message is simple: every puff carries a cost, and for many, that cost is cancer.”
The captions, collected from tobacco products in countries implementing WHO guidelines, span themes such as respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, reproductive harm, and oral health damage. However, cancer remains the most frequently invoked threat, especially lung, throat, and oral cancers.
According to the report, the personal health angle is deliberately direct.
“People react to what affects them individually,” the report notes.
“Highlighting the threat of disease and death—especially with vivid imagery—evokes fear and urgency, motivating behaviour change.” Michael R. Bloomberg, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases, echoed this sentiment in his foreword to the report.
“The evidence is clear: graphic health warnings on tobacco products, along with mass media campaigns, encourage smokers to quit and discourage nonsmokers from starting.”
Since the first WHO tobacco control report in 2008, the number of countries requiring graphic warnings has grown from nine to 110, now covering 62 per cent of the global population.
Despite this progress, the report warns that implementation remains uneven, with many countries lacking strong enforcement or rotating messages to maintain their effectiveness.
“Health warnings must evolve with consumer behaviour and industry tactics,” said Dr. Krech.
“If they become stale, people tune them out. We need to keep the warnings fresh and relevant to sustain their impact.”
The report calls on governments to adopt plain packaging, enforce larger and rotating warnings, and include quit line numbers and support resources on tobacco products.
These moves, it argues, amplify the effectiveness of health warnings and reduce the appeal of smoking, especially among youth.
While smoking rates have declined globally, tobacco still kills over 7 million people every year, and many smokers underestimate the risks.
“It’s not just about long-term illness,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, writes in the report.
“Tobacco use causes devastating disease, disability, and premature death. These warnings help people see that.”
The WHO concludes that strong, visible, and emotionally resonant warnings remain one of the most cost-effective interventions in public health—and one of the simplest to implement.
