Tobacco majors aver strict norms on child labelling

Tobacco Institute of India member companies are voluntary printing 'NOT FOR SALE TO MINORS' on cigarette packs

Even as the government mulls strict child labelling norms for tobacco and alcohol products in the country, the Tobacco Institute of India (TII), apex body of domestic cigarette manufacturers, has said its members  voluntarily print such labels on packs.

“TII member companies are voluntary printing ‘NOT FOR SALE TO MINORS’ on cigarette packs manufactured and sold by them in the country,” the body's director, Syed Mahmood Ahmad, said in response to a mail by Business Standard.  The body did not say if it was in favour of stringent child labelling norms.

Draft rules under the Juvenile Justice Act of 2015 say sellers and buyers of alcohol and tobacco products could be jailed for up to seven years or fined up to Rs 1 lakh or both if found selling or giving  such products to children. And, that tobacco products and alcohol cannot be sold within 200 metres of a child care centre or Juvenile Justice Board office.

ITC, the country's largest cigarette maker, said it voluntarily printed ‘Not for Sale to Minors’ labels on its packs.

Women & child development minister Maneka Gandhi has written to the health ministry to make it compulsory for manufacturers to print these labels on packs. The view is that use of intoxicants is growing among children, which should be curbed, industry sources said.

In the past, cigarette makers have resisted implementing pictorial norms that cover 85 per cent of the pack, saying it is too stringent. However, after twice halting production in the past two months, ITC and other manufacturers have begun following the 85 per cent pictorial norm. This was after a Supreme Court ruling, which decided against staying the government's decision on the matter.

A recent channel check by brokerage Edelweissconfirmed that some cigarette brands sported the 85 per cent pictorial guidelines.  “We expect others to follow suit when the new packaging hits the market,” Abneesh Roy, director, institutional equities, Edelweiss, said in a report issued last Wednesday.

The World Health Organization says tobacco-related diseases cost India $16 billion (Rs 1.7 lakh crore) annually, prompting regulators to curb use.

NEW NORMS IN THE OFFING

• Govt proposes to curb tobacco and alcohol usage among kids by making it compulsory to print 'Not for sale to minors' on packs
   
• Cigarette firms say that they have been voluntary printing these labels
  

 

New norms come right after the furore over 85% pictorial warnings on packs
 

After halting production twice, companies such as ITC have begun following the guidelines