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India tightens rules on cigarettes, tobacco branding

International Desk |
Update: 2014-10-15 11:22:00
India tightens rules on cigarettes, tobacco branding Photo Courtesy: moneycontrol.com

DHAKA: Tobacco companies in India will have to stamp health warnings across 85 percent of the surface of cigarette packs and other products, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday, joining nations such as Thailand and Australia with stringent marketing rules.

Up to 900,000 Indians die every year of diseases related to tobacco use, the government said in 2010. That number could reach 1.5 million by 2020 if users cannot drop the habit, the International Tobacco Control Project estimates.

Besides illustrations showing the negative effects of smoking, packets will be required to carry the word ‘WARNING’ and the phrase ‘Smoking causes throat cancer’, the Health Ministry said. Similar warnings would be required on other tobacco products.

‘(This) will tell each and everyone, including potential users of cigarettes, that tobacco means nothing else except death,’ India health minister Harsh Vardhan said.

‘The war against tobacco consumption is very important for everybody to win.’

The new rules take effect from April 1 next year and mandate printed warnings on the front and back of the packages, the ministry said.

They require 60 percent of the pack’s surface to carry pictorial warnings, with written warnings on another 25 percent.

Currently, 20 percent of the surface is covered in warnings, according to a recent report.

BDST: 2122 HRS, OCT 15, 2014

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