For almost ten years, since May 2016, cigarette packs in Germany have been required to feature shocking warning graphics. They depict the health consequences of smoking, such as damaged lungs or leg disease. They were introduced by a law from February 2016, and their goal is to deter people from the addiction. Studies show that while the percentage of smokers is declining, it is difficult to definitively prove the effectiveness of the images alone.
Tenth anniversary of introduction
On February 25, 2016, the Bundestag passed a law mandating the placement of shocking warning images on tobacco product packaging.
Decline in number of smokers
Data from the German Centre for Addiction Issues shows that currently about one quarter of German adults smoke, and the trend is downward.
Difficult to measure effectiveness
Scientists point out in the "British Medical Journal" that isolating the impact of the graphics alone on the decline in consumption is methodologically difficult.
In Germany, it has been almost a decade since the introduction of the mandatory placement of shocking warning graphics on cigarette packs and other tobacco products. The law that mandated this was passed by the Bundestag on February 25, 2016, and came into force in May of the same year, becoming an inseparable part of the landscape on store shelves ever since. The often drastic images depict the effects of smoking such as laryngeal cancer, destroyed lungs, necrotic changes on the feet (so-called smoker's foot), and black, decayed teeth. Their primary goal is prevention and deterrence, especially of young people, from picking up their first cigarette or motivating existing smokers to quit. The concept of graphic warnings on tobacco product packaging is not a German invention. Canada was the first to introduce such regulations as early as 2001, becoming a world pioneer. In the European Union, a 2014 directive gave member states the basis to introduce mandatory graphics, which were to cover at least 65% of the packaging surface. Previously, for years, warnings were text-only.As indicated by data from the German Centre for Addiction Issues (DHS), the percentage of smoking adults in Germany is systematically decreasing and currently stands at about 25%. However, there is a fundamental research question: to what extent can this positive trend be attributed precisely to the effect of the shock graphics. Scientists, including in the prestigious British Medical Journal, emphasize the methodological difficulty in isolating and proving the direct, causal impact of the images alone on the scale of the entire society. The decision to quit smoking is influenced by numerous, overlapping factors, such as general health awareness, social campaigns, tobacco prices, legal restrictions (e.g., smoking bans in public places), and fashion. Despite these measurement challenges, the graphics remain an important element of comprehensive health policy. They work on the principle of continuous, passive reminders of the consequences of addiction every time a consumer reaches for a pack. Experts emphasize that the most effective is the synergy of different tools: from taxes and advertising bans, through help with quitting smoking, to precisely mandatory visual warnings. After ten years of being in force, there are no plans to withdraw this regulation, although voices are emerging about the need to update the graphics themselves to prevent society from becoming 'immune' to the same, already familiar images.