Sri Lanka Tobacco Company Gets More Time to Comply with Graphic Warning Law

Source from:  LankaPage.com  03/01/2013

Sri Lanka's Supreme Court today granted the Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) more time to comply with the Health Ministry regulations to mark cigarette packs with graphic warnings.

The Supreme Court hearing an appeal by the CTC against an Appellate Court ruling ruled that the tobacco product labeling regulations will not be implemented until the next date of hearing.

The CTC filed the petition in the apex court against the lower court ruling which refused to issue a stay order sought by the major cigarette company in the country to stop the government from labeling cigarette packets with graphic warnings.

Under today's ruling, CTC is not required to comply with the regulations which were come into effect by March 01.

The CTC in a disclosure to the Colombo Stock Exchange said it will continue to produce and supply cigarettes to the market as usual without any changes to its current packs.

The case will be taken up again on March 28.

The CTC has challenged the Tobacco Product (Labelling and Packaging) Regulations No. 01 of 2012 dated 8 August 2012 made by the Minister of Health under the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act.

According to the regulation, the pictorial health warning shall be printed on both sides of every cigarette packet, package or carton containing cigarette and shall cover at least an 80 percent of the total area of a packet, package or a carton. Enditem