Warning labels on cigarettes sold in Canada are about to get a graphic redesign.
Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq is scheduled to introduce the larger, more explicit labels on Thursday.
The labels will cover 75 per cent of the front and back of a cigarette package, up from the current 50 per cent, CTV News has learned.
The federal government was heavily criticized in the fall after it was found they spent almost $4 million researching the labels before apparently deciding not to move ahead with the plan.
The reversal comes after critics said Aglukkaq bowed from pressure from the cigarette industry.
The health minister denied the claim, saying she wanted more time to review the communication strategy on tobacco before moving ahead with the new labels.
Aglukkaq has a press conference set for Thursday to "make an important announcement about tobacco and the government's commitment to protecting Canadians from the dangers of tobacco use."
For the first time, it's expected there will be real-life examples of people who have died from smoking.
Graphic photos of anti-tobacco crusader Barb Tarbox on her deathbed -- she died from brain and lung cancer in 2003 -- are being considered for cigarette packages.
Her husband, Pat, has long lobbied for the move.
Other warnings are aimed at parents, and show the danger secondhand smoke poses to their children.
The packages will include a national toll-free "quit smoking" line.
Canada was the first country to put graphic warning labels on cigarette packaging, but the warnings have not changed in a decade.
With a report by CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife
