Cigarettes packets will have pictorial warnings including photographs of corpses, disfigurements caused due to cancer and smoking induced impotency.
NEW DELHI: From June 1, cigarettes packets will have pictorial warnings including photographs of corpses, disfigurements caused due to cancer and smoking induced impotency.
Health minister Ambunmani Ramadoss announced at a press conference held in the Capital on Wednesday that it would be mandatory for tobacco companies to carry these pictures on cigarette, bidi and gutka packets.
Ramadoss told reporters that no matter what the size of the packet, tobacco companies will not be able to sell their products if they did not have the pictorial warnings. The health ministry has decided to introduce them on tobacco products as it was felt that the written statutory warning was not able to deter people from smoking.
Reacting to the news Dr Rajesh Chawla, consultant, respiratory medicine and critical care, Apollo hospital, who had also filed a PIL to discourage smoking in public places said, “This kind of pictorial warning will perhaps only help those who are looking for a reason to give up smoking. It won’t deter die-hard smokers. What needs to be done is a sound campaign that helps people understand the problems (associated with smoking) so that they don’t get into the habit.”
On the issue of banning tobacco in food products, Ramadoss said that the prohibition would come into effect from August 1.
Other countries such as Canada, Brazil, Australia and Singapore already have the tradition of pictorial warnings on tobacco packets. The European Union too has been pushing for pictorial warnings on cigarette packets, with Belgium already bringing in legislation to this effect.
With inputs from Agencies
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