Graphic Health Warnings

The Supreme Court today refused to stay the operation of new amended rules of the Union Health Ministry directing the manufacturers to have graphic warning images on packets of cigarettes and other tobacco products and helpline numbers for those who wanted to quit the habit.

Over 1,000 retailers of tobacco products on Thursday protested outside the Union Health Ministry office here, demanding reduction in the size of the graphical health warnings on cigarette packets.

The tobacco industry is facing losses of over Rs 350 crore each day as cigarette makers have shut operations due to lack of clarity on proposed graphic health warnings on tobacco products, Assocham said on Tuesday.

Graphic warnings will have to cover at least 85 per cent of the packaging on both sides of tobacco products, the Rajasthan High Court ruled today.

Indian tobacco companies will only be able to use 15 percent of the surface of cigarette packs for branding with the rest reserved for graphic and text health warnings.

Cigarette packs in Thailand will be 85 percent covered with graphic health warnings and a quit smoking hotline telephone number by September, the public health ministry said on Friday.

Cigarette manufacturers in Indonesia, one of the world's biggest tobacco markets, began printing graphic health warnings on packets on Tuesday, but they have yet to appear in shops and the companies involved do not seem too worried about plunging sales.

The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. Mass media campaigns, graphic warnings and alternative crop options for tobacco growers can help stop or reduce the estimated 800,000-900,000 tobacco-attributable...

The Supreme Court today refused to stay the operation of new amended rules of the Union Health Ministry directing the manufacturers to have graphic warning images on packets of cigarettes and other tobacco products and helpline numbers for those who wanted to quit the habit.

Over 1,000 retailers of tobacco products on Thursday protested outside the Union Health Ministry office here, demanding reduction in the size of the graphical health warnings on cigarette packets.

The tobacco industry is facing losses of over Rs 350 crore each day as cigarette makers have shut operations due to lack of clarity on proposed graphic health warnings on tobacco products, Assocham said on Tuesday.

Graphic warnings will have to cover at least 85 per cent of the packaging on both sides of tobacco products, the Rajasthan High Court ruled today.

Indian tobacco companies will only be able to use 15 percent of the surface of cigarette packs for branding with the rest reserved for graphic and text health warnings.

Cigarette packs in Thailand will be 85 percent covered with graphic health warnings and a quit smoking hotline telephone number by September, the public health ministry said on Friday.

Cigarette manufacturers in Indonesia, one of the world's biggest tobacco markets, began printing graphic health warnings on packets on Tuesday, but they have yet to appear in shops and the companies involved do not seem too worried about plunging sales.

The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. Mass media campaigns, graphic warnings and alternative crop options for tobacco growers can help stop or reduce the estimated 800,000-900,000 tobacco-attributable...