According to the statement’s release from the Council of Ministers on Friday, it said that a sub-degree to print health warnings on the outside of cigarette packs-which was prepared by the Ministry of Health – was approved.

Printing the health warning label on the cigarette packs are meant to educate the public, especially children and housewives of the effects of second-hand smoke and to counter any deceiving advertisements from tobacco companies.

Message of health warning label is required all tobacco industries to stick it on each and every package in Khmer language, not to be confused with the companies’ logos.

The Ministry of Health made the sub-degree in pursuance of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), an agreement ratified by 166 countries including Cambodia.

Citing National Institute of Statistics, in 1999 59 percent of men age 20 and older were smokers, and 7.2 percent of women in the same age bracket had taken up the habit. The number of cigarette smokers decreased in 2005, 48 percent of men and 3.6 percent of women.

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