Smoking warning labels could need a refresh to inform public of new health risk discoveries
Source: www.abc.net.au Author: Tegan Taylor When it comes to the health risks associated with smoking, most people know about lung cancer and heart disease. But less than a third of Australians realise it can also cause conditions such as acute leukaemia and rheumatoid arthritis, according to a new study, raising the question around whether current graphic cigarette warning labels need to be refreshed. The study, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, asked 1,800 Australians about whether they thought smoking increased the risk of 23 conditions shown to be associated with tobacco use, such as lung cancer, stroke and diabetes. While more than eight in 10 participants knew lung, throat and mouth cancers, heart disease and emphysema were linked to smoking, much fewer were aware it was associated with erectile dysfunction, female infertility, diabetes and liver cancer. The results showed the current warning labels were doing their job, and that it might be time to expand them, said Michelle Scollo from Cancer Council Victoria, which ran the study. "It was predictable and pleasing that smokers knew about the health effects that have been highlighted in the current sets of warnings and media campaigns," Dr Scollo said. "[But] fewer than half realised it could reduce your fertility, and that could have a really major impact on the course of people's lives … There's a lot that people need to appreciate. Part of the reason the link between smoking and some of the conditions surveyed aren't well known is because research into [...]