Thailand will join Canada, Brazil and Singapore in forcing cigarette makers to put fully colored graphic health warnings on cigarette packets in a bid to discourage smoking, Thailand's Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said on Wednesday.

Minister Sudarat said in a statement a new ministerial order will take effect a year from now, and will require cigarette packets to carry fully color pictures and text depicting the possible consequences of smoking, including lung cancer, premature aging, and bad breath.

The pictures are to take up half the space of each side of a packet of cigarettes, with text in both Thai and English language.

Those colorful graphic warnings will communicate better than the plain black-color text ones, Sudarat said. Tobacco importers or manufacturers who sell cigarettes in Thailand without graphic warnings will face fines of up to 100,000 Baht (US$ 2,500).

Anti-smoking activists in Thailand are praising the Thai government for their decision