Ensure 85 percent warning on tobacco products: BJD MP

BJD MP B.J. Panda on Tuesday insisted that the government should ensure implementation of 85 percent pictorial warning on tobacco products.

"Apart from notifying pictorial warning, the government has to stand up to ensure the rule is implemented," Panda said in the Lok Sabha.

He said tobacco companies were trying to pressurize the government over the issue.

"I urge the government to ensure that this notification is not withdrawn under any pressure. It must be implemented with a larger pictorial warning."

Earlier, the senior BJD member said that consumption of tobacco killed one million Indians every year.

The new warning, he said, "is very very good. It has already been delayed by one year and should not be delayed further".

Tobacco growers and retailers across India are protesting against the recent notification on implementation of pictorial warnings covering 85 percent of the packets of all tobacco products.

According to the Tobacco Institute of India, 45.7 million people were dependent on the industry.

The 85 percent surface pictorial warning came into effect from April 1 despite a parliamentary committee recommendation that this be brought down to 50 percent of the package surface area.

--IANS

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