Would graphic warnings on cigarette boxes make you think twice about smoking?

702's Gugs Mhlungu spoke to resident GP and Proactive Health Solutions CEO, Dr. Fundile Nyati.

Listen to their conversation in the audio clip below.

An ulcer in the throat. A person on a ventilator. A woman with breast cancer.

Would your relationship with tobacco products change if you saw graphic images like these on their packaging?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), tobacco kills more than seven million people annually, including an estimated 1.6 million non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke.

As South Africa grapples with high smoking rates, especially among adults, experts are calling for tougher anti-smoking measures, including graphic health warnings on cigarette packaging. 

"We are one of the countries that are viewed as having very weak health messaging as far as tobacco is concerned."

- Dr. Fundile Nyati,  GP and Proactive Health Solutions CEO

Nyati explains that the proposed Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill, currently before Parliament, would require 65% of cigarette packaging to display graphic images of smoking-related diseases. 

He notes that more than 110 countries have already adopted this approach and seen results.

"It's going to be a drastic change for South Africans, but the information that is coming through from the rest of the world is showing that that shock value does work...it makes people think twice and those who have not yet started."

- Dr. Fundile Nyati,  GP and Proactive Health Solutions CEO

A recently released WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic states that large, graphic, and regularly updated health warnings significantly reduce smoking rates.

The global health body stresses that cigarette packaging can be used as a public health tool.

Scroll up to listen to the full conversation