The American Journal of Preventive Medicine issued a report that stated American cigarette warning labels are the smallest and have the least detail printed, making them the least effective.

Other countries such as Canada, Australia, and Britain have warnings that are much larger and include more health information appearing on both sides of the packages. Some countries even have very graphic warning labels printed on their cigarettes.

A study was conducted to see if these larger, more informed labels could make a difference. The study included 15,000 adult smokers in the U.S., U.K, Canada, and Australia to test the effectiveness of the warning labels used in those four countries between 2002 - 2005. The research did suggest that U.S. smokers might benefit from large graphic warnings on the packages. The U.S. smokers were least likely to notice their American labeling. The researchers also concluded that the U.S. warnings are poor compared to those in other countries. It is suggested that the U.S. labels need a makeover and putting quit-smoking resources on cigarette packages might also help.

Cancer rates across Europe will continue to rise as the population steadily ages, according to an International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) report.

Around 3.2 million cancers were diagnosed across the continent during 2006, up from 2.9 million in 2004.

While screening programmes and lower smoking rates have helped to reduce some cancers, the increasing average age of Europeans was key to the growth, said the report.

“Cancer is a major cause of illness and premature death in the UK,” said Ruth Yates, head of statistical information at Cancer Research UK.

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