Prohibition sign

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The prohibition sign is a red circle with a diagonal line through it (running from top left to bottom right), covering a pictogram to indicate something is not permitted. Under a UK Statutory Instrument, the red area must take up at least 35% of the total area of the sign within the outer circumference of the "pictogram". So 35% of everything within the outer edge of the sign must be the symbol itself. Additionally for printed signs, the width of the symbol is set at 80% the height of the area it is printed to.

The fact that a prohibition sign is circular indicates that the instruction it contains must be followed. A sign may contain also contain supplementary text usually in a box to aid in the understanding of the sign's message. However text only prohibition signs are generally not permitted under most UK & EU statutory guidelines.

[edit] Common usage

Example prohibition sign

Prohibition signs are commonly used through the workplace, public areas and on products to indicate actions that should not be taken. Prohibition signs are placed where necessary to prevent dangerous practices and to indicate necessary safety precautions when using equipment that could otherwise be hazerdous."No smoking", "Do not drink", "No running" and "Do not open" are all common examples of the prohibition sign.

[edit] Variants

New Dutch prohibition signs, omitting the diagonal line and using only the red circle, have recently been introduced to indicate areas where smoking slash marijuana is prohibited. The sign shows a red circle around a marijuana expelling a cloud of smoke containing white marijuana leaves. It has been used in Amsterdam to help deter nuisance smokers.