The new cigarette warning labels required by the FDA to be displayed on cigarette packs beginning September 2012 are generating comments from Nebraska news media.

Opinion pieces on the new smoking warning labels have appeared in the Nebraska City News-Press, the York News-Times, and the McCook Gazette.

Federal health officials have unveiled graphic new smoking warning labels that will be required on all packs of cigarettes sold in Nebraska and nationwide beginning in September of 2012.

The new labels will cover 50 percent of the front and back of the cigarette packages, and there will have to be labels on 20 percent of all cigarette advertising.

Now it's your turn to sound off. What do you think about the new smoking warning labels?

The release of new cigarette warning labels by the Food and Drug Administration has renewed interest in learning about the Family Smoking and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 and its provisions for addressing smoking in the United States.

Two excellent resources available for advocates who are interested in learning more about the act are a webinar co-hosted by the National Association of County and City Health Officials and the Public Health Law Center, and a fact sheet created by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association, the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and the American Lung Association.

Nebraska advocates may also be interested in a fact sheet that discusses the impact of the FDA legislation on efforts to reduce tobacco use at the state level.

The FDA maintains a timeline of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which includes actions to prevent smoking and control tobacco, as well as actions that are authorized by the legislation that are set to occur in the future.

Every day in the United States, almost 4,000 kids younger than 18 try their first cigarette and 1,000 kids younger than 18 become daily smokers. In Nebraska, 2,200 kids younger than 18 will become new daily smokers each year.

Many of these kids will become addicted before they are old enough to understand the risks and will ultimately die too young of tobacco-related diseases. 

In response to the problem of tobacco use and as a result of Congressional Legislation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  is working to protect the health of America’s children and ultimately reduce the burden of illness and death caused by tobacco use.

To protect kids from becoming addicted to tobacco products and suffering the deadly effects of tobacco, the FDA Center for Tobacco Products issued a rule limiting the sale, distribution, and marketing of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco.

Requirements Relating to Sale and Distribution

• Prohibits the sale of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to people younger than 18.
• Prohibits the sale of cigarette packages with fewer than 20 cigarettes.
• Prohibits the sale of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in vending machines, self-service displays, or other impersonal modes of sales, except in very limited situations.
• Prohibits free samples of cigarettes and limits distribution of smokeless tobacco products.

Requirements Relating to Marketing (Labeling, Advertising, and Promotion)

• Prohibits tobacco brand name sponsorship of any athletic, musical, or other social or cultural event, or any team or entry in those events.
• Prohibits gifts or other items in exchange for buying cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products.
• Requires that audio ads use only words with no music or sound effects.
• Prohibits the sale or distribution of items, such as hats and tee shirts, with tobacco brands or logos.

More information about the FDA's efforts to reduce tobacco use among kids is available at the "Protecting Kids from Tobacco Use" website.