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The 6th round of warning images and text for cigarette packs. / Ministry of Health and Welfare

The health warnings on cigarette packs will change from the current suggestive phrasing like "The road to lung cancer" to more direct, blunt assertions such as "Smoking ends in lung cancer." In addition, five types of lesion images depicting the stark realities of smoking-related illnesses have been updated to heighten visual alertness among smokers.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 21st, the '6th Round of Health Warnings on Cigarette Packs' incorporating these changes will take effect on December 23. While the warning text for conventional cigarettes previously stopped short at implying outcomes—such as "The road to lung cancer" or "The road to laryngeal cancer"—the sixth iteration shifts toward a "direct-consequence style" that explicitly names the diseases caused by smoking, reading "Smoking ends in lung cancer" and "Smoking ends in laryngeal cancer."

Furthermore, among the 10 existing themes highlighting diseases and health hazards, "sexual dysfunction"—which had been difficult to convey intuitively—has been removed, and "kidney cancer" has been introduced as a new warning topic. Additionally, warning images for five other categories—oral cancer, heart disease, eye disease, peripheral vascular disease, and secondhand smoke—will be replaced with new imagery that communicates the hazards more effectively.

The warning standards for liquid and heated tobacco electronic cigarettes will also be overhauled. The current combined phrase, "Nicotine addiction, exposure to carcinogens!" will be split into two separate, distinct warnings: "Nicotine addiction!" and "Risk of cancer development!"

"We expect the new health warning messages on cigarette packs to significantly heighten public awareness regarding the harmfulness of tobacco and the associated health risks," said Kim Han-sook, Director General for Health Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

                                                                                                          Lee Jung-yeon