KUALA LUMPUR: At least two brands of cigarettes produced by each cigarette companies here must have graphic health warnings as of two days ago.

Forty per cent of space on the front of the boxes must have one of six pictures showing the health effects of smoking. The warnings must also appear on sixty per cent of the space on the back of the packs.

The graphic warnings comprise pictures of neck, mouth and lung cancers as well as gangrene and miscarriages.

Manufacturers will be required to print all the six sets of warnings alternately.

Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said by March 1, all brands produced by the cigarettes companies here would be required to carry the graphic warnings.

Speaking after chairing the MCA presidential council meeting here yesterday he said: "From June 1, there will be a total ban on the sale of cigarettes packs without graphic warnings."

If they fail to do so, they risk having their products taken off the shelves. They also face a RM10,000 fine or two years' jail, or both. -The New Straits Times/Asia News Network