From April next year, 85 per cent of the surface of cigarette packs in the country will be mandatorily reserved for graphic and text health warnings about adverse health effects while the rest — merely 15 per cent — can be used by the tobacco manufacturers for branding.
The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday issued a notification in this regard. With this India will now top the charts for having the highest element of warning on packages in this list of 198 countries that warn smokers about the hazards of smoking through graphic pictures on cigarette packages.
Of the 85 per cent space, 60 per cent will be devoted to pictoral warnings while 25 per cent will be covered by textual warnings. At present, the space covered by the warning is 40 per cent, said Health Minister Harshvardhan at an event here.
He said the notification makes it mandatory for tobacco companies now to devote 85 per cent space on the cigarette packs or any other tobacco products for pictoral and textual warnings against the perils of tobacco.
“Tobacco means only death. I have seen this closely, effects of tobacco as an ENT surgeon,” said Vardhan, who has been a practising doctor.
With this, India will join Thailand where also 85 per cent of space on cigarette packs and other tobacco products is covered with warnings.
In Australia, it is 82.5 per cent and in Uruguay, it 80 per cent. Earlier, India had slipped from 128th to 136th position since 2012, according to a new report ‘The Cigarette Package Health Warnings: International Status Report 2014’ released on Wednesday.
Implementation will take place from April 1,2015, which is intended to give time to tobacco companies to change their packaging, said the Minister.
As per the notification, the rules will be called the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and labelling) Rules, 2008. “The specified health warning shall cover at least 85 per cent of the principal display area of the package of which 60 per cent shall cover pictoral health warning and 25 per cent shall cover textual health warning and shall be positioned on the top edge of the package...”
“Further, the specified health warning on tobacco product package shall be rotated every 24 months from the date of commencement of these rules or before the period of rotation as may be specified by the Central Government by notification,” said the notification.
A pictoral repersentation of the ill effects of tobacco use on health shall be placed above textual health warning. Each health warning shall be specified in English, Hindi, and any other regional languages.