Warnings for smokers

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is on the right track when it announced that cigarette warnings will be introduced this year on all cigarette packs.

The labels - graphic and text - are an effort by the government to discourage tobacco use by bringing Chinese smokers face to face with the reality of tobacco-related diseases.

The new move makes the country compliant with the World Health Organization's global treaty on tobacco, which stipulates that 35 percent of a cigarette packs must have warnings and pictures.