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India notifies new, more graphic health warnings for tobacco packs

All tobacco products manufactured or imported or packaged on or after 1 st September, 2018 shall display new images

From September 1, India will move to new, more gory images of cancerous growths on cigarette packets.

On Monday the ministry of health and family welfare notified new sets of specified
health warnings for all tobacco product packs by making an amendment in the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labeling) Rules, 2008vide GSR 331(E) dated 3 rd April 2018 “Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labeling) Second Amendment Rules, 2018”. The amended Rules will be applicable w.e.f. 1 st September 2018.

Tobacco warning
Tobacco warning

The ministry notified two sets of images. All tobacco products manufactured or imported or packaged on or after 1 st September, 2018 shall display Image -1 and those manufactured or imported or packaged on or after 1 st September, 2019 shall display Image-2.
The ministry in its order notified: “Any person engaged directly or indirectly in the production, supply, import or distribution of cigarettes or any tobacco products shall ensure that all tobacco product packages shall have the specified health warnings exactly as prescribed.”

Violation  is a punishable offence. Punishment with imprisonment or fine is prescribed in Section 20 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003. Many tobacco manufacturers have already procured the images. The images will have to occupy 85% of the principal display area of a pack of tobacco product, smokeless or otherwise.

In addition, textual Health Warning. – For smoking and smokeless forms of tobacco products, the word “TOBACCO CAUSES CANCER” and the word “TOBACCO CAUSES PAINFUL DEATH” shall appear in white font colour on a red background. In addition the words “QUIT TODAY CALL 1800-11-2356” shall appear in white font colour on a black background.

The recently released Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2016-17 by Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) had put to rest all apprehensions about the effectiveness of the warnings, since 62% of cigarette smokers and 54% of bidi smokers shared that they had thought of quitting because of the 85 percent pictorial warnings on the packets. And 46% of smokeless tobacco users thought of quitting because of the warnings on smokeless tobacco products.

Pictorial health warnings on tobacco products are the most cost-effective tool for educating on the health risks of tobacco use. In a country like India, where people use several languages and dialects, the pictorial warning transcends the language and in many cases also the illiteracy barrier.

Shreya Sharma
Shreya Sharma
Shreya Sharma is a student of Psychology. She is a social media enthusiast with special interest in public health. You can reach her at: shreya6sh@gmail.com
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6 COMMENTS

  1. As per the rules laid down under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), during the rotation period of 24 months, two images of specified health warnings as notified in the Schedule, shall be displayed on all tobacco product packages and each of the images shall appear consecutively on the package with an interregnum period of 12 months, a notification issued earlier read.

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