Should local cigarettes have bolder warnings? If I were to average the responses I got to this question, the result would be a flat 'Sure thing it won't hurt'.

Saturday was World No Tobacco Day. I'm not sure that anyone celebrated it in Bermuda. We all know that smoking can lead to lung cancer and a host of other respiratory ailments. Friends and family tell all smokers this yet they continue to light up and inhale.

In Europe, the UK and Canada cigarette manufacturers or distributors must place extra warnings labels on every box. A non-smoker myself, I was shocked to see a friend pull a stick from a box with clear bold type that read "Smoking Kills" ¿ that would be enough to get me to not buy the box.

It was, for me, tantamount to a label saying "Poison". But my friend laughed at me, so I took the box and asked others how they felt. I asked the Chief Medical Officer if it's an issue that the Health Ministry has ever looked at. His response came too late for publication, but will be published next week. Charles Jeffers, a member of the advocates for non-smokers group, said members had discussed the issue but he didn't recall the verdict.

"We definitely talked about that but it was some time ago. It was before the legislation (on public smoking) was changed. The group haven't met since then," he said.

And he readily admitted he feels the change would likely make little impact if any among smokers. "I believe that anything that is not unhelpful is helpful," he said. "Maybe a minority of people will catch the message. A lot of them know it is dangerous to their health but they look at it from the point of view that they enjoy it or worse, they are addicts. "I think it may dissuade those on the verge of smoking and may help those who are not regular smokers."

VIEW ON THE STREET

Mr. Jeffers' view was shared by Nicola Swan who smoked for 29 years before giving it up three years ago. From the UK she said the bold warnings have been on packets in Britain for at least 20 years. "It niggles you every time you look at the packet, but I looked at it for 29 years and it didn't stop me," she said.

In fact Mrs. Swan loved smoking so much that even when her mother died from cancer caused by smoking, she refused to give it up. 'It was a very big part of my life," she said. Yet she feels the warnings should also be mandatory on cigarette packets in Bermuda. "It could impact first timers," she said.

Similarly Jessica Simmons, a smoker, said she thinks it's possible that it might help a few people. In her native Canada, packets have very graphic pictures in addition to the text warnings on the label. "It makes you a little more conscious seeing yellow teeth or a black lung. It makes you a little more aware every time you light a cigarette," she said. "It hasn't stopped me yet, and I've been smoking for 14 years, but I think it's good to have these labels not just in Bermuda but everywhere in the world," she said.

Paul Pacheco, also a 14-year smoker, said: "Some people would pay attention to the labels but not me. I am a smoker."

Alison Ince, a non-smoker from Britain, said although the bold labelling has been in place there for several years, she doesn't think it's had any impact. "I think they should put them on here but I don't think sales will drop," she said. "Once you're addicted, you're addicted. I think it's best addressed via education in the schools."

Said Oubella, a native of Morocco, agreed that a different approach is needed to stop people smoking. He lost his father, a cigarette smoker, to cancer four years ago and also has a friend who has become paralysed because of smoking too many cigarettes. "My friends here know that I hate cigarettes and no one smokes next to me," he said.

"I think the media are the most important way of getting the message across. When you talk about adding the warning to the pack, I say it's already too late ¿ they already have the pack. They've already bought it. They're still going to smoke it because it's in their hand. If they see it on billboards or TV this is better. You need to get them before they buy it and convince them not to."

Longtime smoker John Brinkley agreed that the warnings have no impact on smokers he knows. "It sticks in your head but, if you are going to smoke, you ignore it. I don't think it matters much pushing it in your face like that. It's like drunk driving and so many other things ¿ if you are going to do it you are going to do it."

Of the 10 people I spoke with about this matter, he was the only one who said he didn't think there was any point in adding the warning on cigarette packs in Bermuda. "Where will we draw the line?" he asked. "If we do that, are we going to put warnings on alcohol about kidney failure and liver disease? And on fatty food about cholesterol?"

His mate Joe Burnett, however, said he felt the labelling was worth the effort. "I think you might get to the odd person and it's worth it even for one person," he said.

Sharing his optimistic outlook was a former worker for the cigarette conglomerate Philip Morris. Jodi Decrenza said she worked for the company for three years. "I hated it," she said. "Can you believe that every week when they gave me a paycheque I also got a free pack of cigarette? Every week. I really hated that. Everyone there smoked and I used to get terrible headaches. I quit because I just hated what they stood for." Now a yoga instructor, Mrs. Decrenza said she believes the bold labelling should be instituted on cigarette packets locally. And she fervently believes it can make a significant impact. "If you have to look at that box every time you get a cigarette, it will sink into the brain," she said. "It will be like a yoga mantra, your mind will get the constant message and it will work like an affirmation for you to stop smoking." Calls to local cigarette distributor Pitt and Company were not returned.