FDA Unveils New Graphic Cigarette Warning Labels

If the cost of cigarettes isn’t enough to make you want to quit smoking - the average retail price of a pack of cigarettes in Connecticut is $7.45 - there’s more.

On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration released nine new graphic warnings for cigarette packages – the first new labels in over 25 years, according to the FDA.

"The introduction of these warnings is expected to have a significant public health impact by decreasing the number of smokers, resulting in lives saved, increased life expectancy and lower medical costs," the FDA's Web site states.

And the administration isn’t just blowing smoke. The new labels will be required on all cigarette packaging and ads in the U.S. beginning in September 2012. The Huffington Posts reports that the labels must cover at least 50 percent of every pack of cigarettes sold in the U.S. by mid-2013.

Smokers will be greeted with images ranging from damaged lungs, to a rotting mouth, to a dead body with the words “WARNING: Smoking can kill you,” placed prominently on the package.

In response to the new guidlines, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) released a statement from his office saying that the warnings were "another important step forward in protecting and improving public health, ensuring that the devastating health effects associated with tobacco use are clear to anyone who picks up a pack of cigarettes or sees a cigarette advertisement."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the U.S. The CDC’s Web site states that about 443,000 people in the U.S. – nearly one in five – die from smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke each year.

Click here for a slide-show of the new warning labels courtesy of The Huffington Post.