Canadian organisations urge Modi to implement tobacco warnings

Coinciding with Narendra Modi's visit to their country, two Canadian anti-tobacco organisations today urged the Prime Minister to implement the Indian government's plan to expand the size of graphic health warnings on tobacco packages.
The 'Canadian Cancer Society' and the 'Heart and Stroke Foundation' have written a letter to Modi in this regard.
"The tobacco industry in India has been lobbying your government in opposition to these new, larger warnings. We strongly urge you to resist this lobbying. We urge you and your government to implement the 85 per cent pictorial health warnings as soon as possible.
"The tobacco industry in India is using the same lobbying tactics and the same misinformation about job loss that the tobacco industry previously used in Canada," wrote Canadian Cancer Society's President and CEO Pamela C Fralick and Heart and Stroke Foundation's CEO David Sculthorpe in the letter.

According to a 2014 report of the Canadian Cancer Society, India is ranked 136th among 198 countries listed according to the size of their tobacco warnings.
The government recently decided to defer implementation of the notification to cover 85 per cent of space on cigarette packs and other tobacco products with graphic and text warnings. The earlier decision had been lauded by the global tobacco control community.

"It is clearly established that large, well-designed pictorial health warnings are an effective measure to increase awareness of the adverse health effects of tobacco. Pictorial warnings are especially important for people who are illiterate. Canada was the first country in the world to implement pictorial warnings in 2001.

"In 2012, Canada increased the size of package health warnings from 50 per cent to 75 per cent. On both of these occasions in Canada, the tobacco industry was strongly opposed to new warnings, but public health prevailed. Today, at least 77 countries and territories worldwide have implemented pictorial health warnings," the letter said.
If implemented, India will join Thailand where also 85 per cent of space on cigarette packs and other tobacco products is covered with warnings. In Australia, it is 82.5 per cent and in Uruguay, it 80 per cent.
Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to undertake a standalone bilateral visit to Canada in 42 years.