21 April 2022
Solomon Islands has a high rate of smoking, particularly among young people. Evidence in Solomon Islands shows that many people do not realize that smoking is a leading cause of preventable non-communicable diseases.
“In addition to informing the public about the harmful effects of tobacco products, graphic health warnings have been shown to discourage youth from starting to smoke as well as increase smokers’ attempts to quit,” said Dr. Audrey Aumua, World Health Organization Representative (WHO) to Solomon Islands.
The Solomon Islands Government is said to be committed to working with both the tobacco private sector and communities to educate people on the dangers of tobacco use, and to ensure that the risks of tobacco are well understood.
It is my understanding that from 2015 graphic health warnings showing the dangers of tobacco use had to be displayed on all tobacco products in the Solomon Islands.
Five images and messages educating the public about the harmful effects of smoking will appear on both the front and back of cigarette packets and other tobacco products.
Images and messages include smoking causing lung cancer and blindness as well as harming unborn babies.
The health warnings in 2015 demonstrated the government's commitment to the Solomon Islands Tobacco Control Act 2010 and the Tobacco Control Regulations 2013.
Solomon Islands (in 2015) had one of the largest graphic health warnings requirements in the Pacific. Under the Tobacco Control Regulations, making it compulsory that all tobacco packaging display graphic health warnings on 70% of the front and 30% of the back of tobacco packaging from 1 January 2015.
The entire tobacco sector in Solomon Islands had to conform to this.
“The Tobacco Control Regulations are a great step toward ensuring that people are warned about tobacco - a poisonous product that causes disease and kills people,” said Dr. Cedric Alependava, Chair of the Tobacco Control Taskforce Committee.
Source- WHO press release in 2015
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
