Cigars to Come with Strong Health Warnings

By Rob Schaefer, cancerpage.com

The seven biggest cigar companies, covering 95% of the market in the US, have agreed to include strong health warnings on packaging and advertising for their products.

The FTC had threatened the companies with administrative court action charging a failure to disclose the health risks of cigar smoking and calling their actions, "deceptive and unfair." So the companies chose to enter a consent agreement that does not count against them as a violation of law. For its part the government avoids lengthy litigation and gets the labeling it wants much faster.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Robert Pitofsky said: "Cigar smoking is considered by many consumers to be a harmless alternative to cigarette smoking. According to the Surgeon General and scientific evidence to the contrary, they are dead wrong. These settlements will help end that misperception and ensure that consumers receive clear and prominent warnings about the risk of indulging in cigars."

FTC spokesman Mitch Katz tells cancerpage.com the labeling is "more explicit" than what is currently found on cigarette packaging. Under the agreements cigar packaging and advertising will be required to display one of the following warnings on a rotating basis:

• SURGEON GENERAL WARNING: Cigar Smoking Can Cause Cancers Of The Mouth And Throat, Even If You Do Not Inhale.
• SURGEON GENERAL WARNING: Cigar Smoking Can Cause Lung Cancer And Heart Disease.
• SURGEON GENERAL WARNING: Tobacco Use Increases The Risk Of Infertility, Stillbirth And Low Birth Weight.
• SURGEON GENERAL WARNING: Cigars Are Not A Safe Alternative To Cigarettes.
• SURGEON GENERAL WARNING: Tobacco Smoke Increases The Risk Of Lung Cancer And Heart Disease, Even In Nonsmokers.

Katz tells cancerpage.com that last warning is meant for those around second-hand cigar smoke. He adds, "It"s important that young people and others know the true risks of cigar smoking."

The proposed rules for the cigar sellers include:

• Warning statements in black print on a solid white background.
• Warning statements in advertising that must be centered in black-ruled rectangular boxes.
• For cigar packaging the warning must be on the "principal display panel in order to ensure that the warnings appears in the most noticeable location."
• For most cigar boxes the warnings will appear on the top or front panel of the package and the inside lid so it is visible when the box is displayed open. 

This first national requirement for cigar warnings follows a study from the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, which reported striking data in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

In an interview with cancerpage.com lead epidemiologist Jean A. Shapiro, PhD, said for cigar smokers who inhale the threat of lung cancer death is 11 times greater than for non-smokers. For non-inhalers the threat was three times worse. The overall threat for cigar smokers was five times greater. The danger was worst for men who smoked three or more cigars a day, inhale the smoke, and who have smoked for 25 or more years.

The seven companies:

• Swisher International, Inc.
• Consolidated Cigar Corporation
• Havatampa, Inc.
• General Cigar Holdings, Inc.
• John Middleton, Inc.
• Lane Limited, Inc.
• Swedish Match North America, Inc.

The FTC is aiming for a national system of cigar health warnings and the new regs will supersede some state laws that required different health warnings on cigar products. But, the FTC says state or local requirements, such as restrictions on advertisement placement or youth access to tobacco products, will remain in effect.

FTC spokesman Katz tells cancerpage.com there will be a 30-day comment period on the regulations and, barring something unexpected, 180 days later new labeling will be appearing on cigar boxes and ads around the country.

SOURCES:

• The Federal Trade Commission
• Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Feb. 16, 2000; 92:333-337

OTHER RESOURCES:

• For cancerpage.com"s earlier report on the dangers of cigar smoke click on the article: Cigar Smoking Increases Risk of Lung Cancer Death Five-Fold