warning label, cigarettes
A screenshot surfacing Facebook and Twitter showed a story where a cigarette company allegedly used an unsolicited image of a child in the intensive care unit to place as the health warning label on their cigarette packs.
The alleged story begins with the child’s father suing the company when he found out about the image being used without consent, his lawyer supposedly agreeing with the company to deliberately lose the case, and eventually, the father being charged with judicial fees after he lost the case in court. 

Here are the facts so far: 

  • The Facebook post’s image already has some history, as it was associated with the same claim in, only this time it’s a boy—as the victim—rather than a girl. The previous case was covered in many television programs, including Riham Saeed’s TV show, Sabaya Elkheer.
  • Social media accounts claiming to be linked or related to the alleged victim disclosed no further information regarding the case, understandable to spare the family any unnecessary attention, of course. As there is no confirmed police report or concrete facts supporting the accusations so far, it’s safe to assume that this is just a hoax—until proven otherwise.
  • Finally, we are not sure whether the victim is the older or the current case—or whether it’s factual, to begin with; however, we are certain that the image is evident on many cigarette and smoking-related products, interestingly enough, belongs to different companies, not one as claimed. This fact is important to focus on as both cases claim they sued a certain, singular, unmentioned company.

 

Evidently, it’s safe to deem these allegations obsolete until proven otherwise. In a time where jokes can go viral as real news, it’s a virtue to practice some skepticism.