Graphic cigarette health warnings revealed

WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- Nine graphic health warnings are required to appear on every pack of cigarettes and every ad, U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials say.

The warnings -- such as a body with stitches down the chest and a man blowing smoke through a tracheotomy hole in his throat -- are required under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on June 22, 2009.

FDA officials say the nine powerful images were chosen after reviewing the scientific literature, analyzing the results from an 18,000-person study and considering more than 1,700 comments from a variety of groups, including the tobacco industry, retailers, health professionals, public health and other advocacy groups, academics, state and local public health agencies, medical organizations and individual consumers.

Each warning is accompanied by a smoking cessation phone number, 1-800-QUIT-NOW, FDA officials say.

"President Obama is committed to protecting our nation's children and the American people from the dangers of tobacco use. These labels are frank, honest and powerful depictions of the health risks of smoking and they will help encourage smokers to quit and prevent children from smoking," Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services says in a statement.

Tobacco use is responsible for 443,000 U.S. deaths each year and costs nearly $200 billion every year in medical costs and lost productivity, the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.