MOSCOW, June 25 (UPI) -- The warning "Smoking kills" will appear on the front of all packs of cigarettes sold in Russia as part of a new anti-smoking campaign, the government said.
When the new regulations take effect at the start of 2011, the mandatory "Smoking kills" message is to appear in a black-framed box covering nearly a third of the front of each pack of smokes, RIA Novosti reported. An additional warning must cover no less than half the back,
The warnings are larger and more prominent than those on cigarettes sold in the United States and some other countries that have required warnings for decades.
The Russian Health and Social Development Ministry announced the new regulations on cigarettes, which now carry no warnings and can continue to be sold without them through this year.
Other warnings to appear on cigarette packs in Russia include "Smoking causes lung cancer," "Smoking causes heart attacks and strokes," "Smoking can lead to male impotency" and "Keep children away from tobacco smoke."
The World Health Organization says more than 60 percent of Russian men smoke and about 400,000 Russians die of smoking-related illnesses each year.
