Tobacco Packs to Get Pictorial Warning

Source from:  ndtv.com December 2, 2007 (New Delhi) 12/03/2007

Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Sunday said that the Government was committed to making mandatory the pictorial warnings on the packs of tobacco products. "The pictorial warnings on the packs of tobacco-related products are going to come definitely," he told reporters on the sidelines of a health in New Delhi. "The enforcement was supposed to come into force on December one, but since the case is pending in the (Himachal Pradesh) high court, the Government will wait for the judgement," he said. ''The court has said it (the campaign) cannot be enforced till December 13. We are waiting for the judgement. After that, we will know what course of action to take,'' he said. Ramadoss had recently rued that his fight against the use of tobacco products was facing opposition from various quarters, which had the ''backing of tobacco companies''. The minister parried questions on the ongoing controversy over the AIIMS (Amendment) Act, 2007 which fixed the age limit of the institutes director at 65 years and the subsequent removal of P Venugopal from the coveted post. Legal enforcers Ramadoss said the Government was contemplating to legalise NGOs, lawmakers, bus drivers, conductors, train ticket examiner, headmasters and panchayat heads as ''enforcers'', who will have the authority to impose fine on any one found smoking in a public place. ''The World Health Organisation has warned India that it might face three majors problems in future such as tobacco, alcoholism and junk-food related activities,'' he said, adding alcoholism is going to be even a bigger problem than tobacco. Forty per cent of all health problems in the country are related to tobacco and about 10 lakh people lose their lives every year due to tobacco-related diseases, the minister said. Expressing concern over the rising usage of tobacco, he said the usage in India has increased from 15 per cent to 26 per cent in the last decade. He also rued that despite of several laws, the country has not been able to curb the menace. Lauding Chandigarh for its initiative to make the city 'tobacco-free', Ramadoss said Chennai and Delhi are likely to follow the suit. ''I am sure Chennai will be a tobacco-free city soon. Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit has also assured me that the capital will be made a tobacco-free city by 2008,'' he said. The tobacco industry in the country is worth Rs 40,000 crore and the money the Government, NGOs and people spend on it is Rs 45,000 crores, he said. Enditem