Tobacco Health Warnings in China: Evidence of Effectiveness and Implications for Action

On 21 May 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), the world's first health treaty. As of December 2013, 177 countries, covering 88% of the world's population, are Parties to the treaty. China signed the WHO FCTC in 2003 and ratified it in August 2005. This report is designed to present policy-makers in China with the necessary evidence to implement more effective health warning labels for tobacco products. The report summarizes the current state of warning labels in China, recent steps towards strengthening warning labels and the international evidence on the effectiveness of pictorial health warnings.