(File photo: Chinanews.com)

Experts have called for pictorial warnings on Chinese cigarette packs at a seminar held by Chinese Association on Tobacco Control in Beijing on Nov. 13.

It was learnt from the seminar that to date, a total of 118 countries and regions have implemented pictorial warnings on cigarette packs. 105 of them have introduced health warnings covering at least 50 percent of the packs and 15 have legislated a coverage of not less than 75 percent.

However, as the world's largest tobacco producer with the largest number of smokers, China has not yet introduced the measure.

Experts proposed that China should introduce health warning pictures on tobacco products promptly, as they believe it is the most effective method to show the health risks of smoking and persuade smokers to quit.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), health warnings should be 50% or more of the principal display areas. Besides, the warnings should also be "large, clear, visible, and legible”, as well as aleatory, meaning that more than one warning should appear on packs either at the same time or over a prescribed time period.

The packages of Chinese cigarettes, however, are beautiful and fascinating, said Xu Guihua, a senior tobacco control expert. He added that most people in China support the use of pictorial warnings on cigarette packs.

Graphic pictures on cigarette packs can lower the temptation of cigarettes to adolescents as showed by a survey, said Duan Jiali, the director of Tobacco Control Office, Beijing Center for Diseases Prevention and Control. She believes that the tobacco packs should be taken as an effective tool to persuade teenagers to stay away from tobacco.