Centre issues new set of health warnings on tobacco product packs
The Union health ministry on Friday notified that all tobacco products manufactured, imported or packaged on or before December 1, 2022, will display a new image and two new warnings.
In a statement issued on Friday, the ministry said the government has notified new sets of specified health warnings for all tobacco product packs by making an amendment in the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008 on July 21, 2022, which will be applicable from December 1, 2022.
From December 1, all tobacco products manufactured and imported on or before December 1, will have a mandatory warning “tobacco causes painful death”.
Two images have also been selected, one of which will be used with this text warning. The image and text warning will be valid for a period of one year following its commencement on December 1.
Tobacco products manufactured, imported, or packaged on or after December 1, 2023 will display the second image with textual health warning “tobacco users die younger,” according to the new health warnings notified by the ministry.
“Any person engaged directly or indirectly in the manufacture, production, supply, import or distribution of cigarettes or any tobacco products shall ensure that all tobacco product packages shall have the specified health warnings exactly as prescribed,” the health ministry said. It added, “Violation of the above-mentioned provision is a punishable offence with impris
Two images have also been selected, one of which will be used with this text warning.
onment or fine as prescribed in Section 20 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003.”
The ministry said that the notification along with the soft or printable version of the specified health warnings in 19 languages will be available on the official websites— www. mohfw. gov. in and ntcp.nhp.gov.in. The Union health ministry had notified the new specified health warnings, covering 85% of the principal display area on all tobacco product packages, which have been in use since April 1, 2016.
As per the rules previously, during the rotation period of 2 years, a set of images warning consumers were to be displayed on all tobacco product packages and each of the images were to appear consecutively on the package for a period of one year.
All tobacco products manufactured on or after April 1, 2017, will have to display the new images.“Violation... is a punishable offence with imprisonment or fine as prescribed in section 20 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003,” read the ministry notification.