New Delhi|Ronak
It has been a year delay that products of tobacco now, cover larger pictorial warnings. It has to be 85 percent of the total packaging space.
The new central notification has to implement from April 1st 2016.
Earlier the parliamentary committee recommended small warning regarding this. The committee on subordinate legislation had described the proposal given by government that 85percent of the packaging surface should carry pictorial warnings is likely to harsh, the committee instead to recommend 50 percent.
The stand also induced criticism from health expertise and parliamentarians too.
There was a, notification made on September 24, 2015 by Ministry of Health
For the implementation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2014, comes into force on April 1st.
It has been a commitment made with the Rajasthan High Court on March 28 from the ministry.
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“The committee is of the view that in order to have a balanced approach, the warning on cigarette packets should be 50 per cent on both sides of the principal display area, instead of 85 per cent of the principal display area, as it will be too harsh and result in the flooding of illicit cigarettes in the country,” the committee said in the report.
According to a senior official statement that all tobacco products manufactured from April 1 onwards will carry larger pictorial health warnings as the rules framed by the ministry have come into effect.
Representative of tobacco growers urged to PM Narendra Modi by giving examples of other tobacco producing countries.
As per their view, many of developed countries including the US, Japan and China have only text warnings instead of pictorial warnings on tobacco products.
