85% of space on tobacco packs to be covered with warning
16 Oct 2014 6:10 AM IST
Shaken by the latest global report on cigarette packaging with health warnings in which India slipped to 136th position among 198 countries, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has made it mandatory to cover 85 per cent of space on cigarette packs and other tobacco products with graphic and text warnings about adverse health effects.
Hailing the move, Dental Council of India (DCI) president Dr Dibyendu Mazumder told Millennium Post that this is a great effort to save the lives of people dying due to tobacco products. Appreciating DCI for bringing the issue into the health minister’s notice, Mazumder said, ‘The minister should have taken this decision earlier as we had recommended for the same to Health Ministry months ago.’
This move of the government will push country to the first position with the highest element of warning on packages. The implementation will take place from 1 April, 2015, which is intended to give time to tobacco companies to change their packaging. The report titled ‘The Cigarette Package Health Warnings: International Status Report 2014’ was released on Tuesday.
A notification in this regard was issued by health minister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday during a function organised to celebrate the Global Handwashing Day. According to the notification, out of the 85 per cent space, 60 per cent will be devoted to pictorial warnings while 25 per cent will be covered by textual warnings. At present, the space covered by the warning is 40 per cent. ‘We have issued a notification which will make it mandatory for tobacco companies to devote 85 per cent space on the packs for pictorial and textual warnings against the perils of tobacco,’ Vardhan said.
Hailing the move, Dental Council of India (DCI) president Dr Dibyendu Mazumder told Millennium Post that this is a great effort to save the lives of people dying due to tobacco products. Appreciating DCI for bringing the issue into the health minister’s notice, Mazumder said, ‘The minister should have taken this decision earlier as we had recommended for the same to Health Ministry months ago.’
This move of the government will push country to the first position with the highest element of warning on packages. The implementation will take place from 1 April, 2015, which is intended to give time to tobacco companies to change their packaging. The report titled ‘The Cigarette Package Health Warnings: International Status Report 2014’ was released on Tuesday.
A notification in this regard was issued by health minister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday during a function organised to celebrate the Global Handwashing Day. According to the notification, out of the 85 per cent space, 60 per cent will be devoted to pictorial warnings while 25 per cent will be covered by textual warnings. At present, the space covered by the warning is 40 per cent. ‘We have issued a notification which will make it mandatory for tobacco companies to devote 85 per cent space on the packs for pictorial and textual warnings against the perils of tobacco,’ Vardhan said.
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