PMK to stage protest on April 10 over delaying of pictoral warnings on tobacco products

Stating that the Centre was delaying the deadline of pictorial warnings in tobacco products, NDA constituent PMK said they would stage a protest on April 10 demanding to increase the picture size to 85% party founder S Ramadoss said.

"Even as there is criticism against government for not publishing big pictures on the covers of tobacco products, there is news about Prime Minister Modi asking the Health Ministry to increase the picture size to 60-65%. It is nothing but a delaying tactics", Ramadoss said in a statement. He demanded that the Government should increase the picture size to 85%.

He said a protest would be held on April 10 on behalf of Pasumai Thayagam (an NGO) in Chennai asking the Centre to implement the recommendations of the Harshvardhan Committee making 85% of space on cigarette packs and other tobacco products to be mandatorily covered with graphic and text warnings of health hazard, he said. He said he would lead the protest.

The Parliamentary panel on subordinate legislation examining the provisions of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, had urged the government to keep on hold its proposal to increase the size of pictorial warnings on tobacco packets from 40% to 85%.

"Based on this, the Central government also postponed the implementation which was supposed to be from April 1, this year", he said. "It is a wrong step as more than 10 lakh people die in the country due to tobacco usage each year," he said.