Warnings will be printed on Canadian cigarettes

Following bottles of alcohol, Canada decided to label cigarettes. Now information about the dangers of smoking will be placed not only on the packages of tobacco products, but also on them. This is a big experiment for Canada that the whole world will be watching: it is the first country that has resorted to such measures.

The Health Canada approved a total of six slogans to be placed on cigarettes. The inscription should occupy at least 75% of the tobacco product to catch the smoker's eye. The authors of the initiative hope that frequent reminders, which are hard to ignore, will reduce the number of smokers. Every time a Canadian picks up a cigarette, they will read that it harms them and those around them.

The initiative has an equal chance of success and failure. Science has actually proven that thinking about the damage of bad habits reduces the propensity to engage in them. Think back to the last time you overeated or stayed up late. Chances are you did these things unknowingly. It's hard to send another chocolate cupcake into your mouth if at that moment you think it's hurting your figure.

It's about the same with smoking: most people reach for a cigarette unconsciously, when they are stressed or brooding. Many smokers would like to quit, but all thoughts of the harms of smoking vanish from their minds when they reach for a cigarette. Reminders on tobacco products are designed to constantly draw attention to future health problems.

There is a problem here, however: The human brain successfully learns to ignore and overlook intrusive information. From advertising billboards to uninteresting posts on social media, we quickly learn not to waste our attention on part of the daily routine. So it's unclear whether the project will succeed or whether smokers will simply ignore the writing on cigarettes.

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