"Smoking can aggravate the damage caused by COVID-19," is one of the new messages that, by official mandate in Mexico, must appear on cigarette packs and tobacco product packages as of December 1 of this year.
According to what was published by the Ministry of Health, in December of this year four new pictograms will come into force, which will maintain a space of 30 percent on the main face of the packages. Similarly, health messages and warnings will occupy 100 percent of one of the sides and the back. Only now the background of the legends changes from black to yellow, and the letters from yellow to black.
"Smoking can aggravate COVID-19 damage" and "This product is addictive," are the warnings on the sides of the packages.
In addition, the new health messages will also refer to the fact that tobacco smoke damages blood vessels; people who use tobacco are 30 to 40 percent more likely to have type 2 diabetes; children exposed to tobacco smoke experience decreased lung function; and that tobacco use increases the risk of developing lung cancer by up to twenty-two times.
"In the case of importing tobacco products, the companies that carry out this activity will be solely responsible for planning the warnings necessary for the conditioning of packages and external labeling, in order for the tobacco products that in question, comply with the provisions in force at the time of requesting the import permit from the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) ”, the notice clarified.
Since the start of the pandemic by COVID-19, smokers joined the group of people who make up the risk groups for this disease.
“It is clear that COVID-19 in the tobacco user is much more serious; The World Health Organization speaks of up to 14 times more risk of death than a non-tobacco user, that is, if the disease is contracted, it is riskier for someone who smokes, such as for the diabetic or those over 65 years of age, except that these are factors that we cannot modify, ” said Cardiologist Francisco Toscano Quilon, member of the Fundación Cardiológica Argentina (FCA).
