Tobacco growers demand downsizing of pictorial warning

Tobacco growers today said the implementation of proposed 85 per cent pictorial warnings on tobacco products would be "suicidal" for farmers and will boost illegal trade of cigarettes.
The Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA), a non-profit organisation representing the causes of tobacco growers, has urged the Prime Minister to "align policies for graphic health warnings with other tobacco producing countries and safeguard farmer livelihoods under threat due to propaganda by globally funded NGOs."
The federation said that implementation of health warnings on tobacco products at 85 per cent of both sides of the pack size would be suicidal for the Indian tobacco farmers.

"Increasing the size of the Health Warning to an unreasonably large size of 85 per cent will virtually make all cigarettes unbranded, giving an immediate boost to smuggled & illegal cigarettes since these will not carry or carry very small health warning," the association said in a statement.
A Parliamentary panel has termed as "too harsh" the government's proposed 85 per cent pictorial warnings on tobacco products and recommended a drastic reduction in size.
The chairman of the Committee on Subordinate Legislations Dilip Gandhi recommended the size of the warnings to be increased from present 40 per cent to 50 per cent.

The health ministry's directive is likely to come into effect from April 1 this year.

On the Parliamentary panel's recommendation, FAIFA said: "This is discriminatory and will damage farmers immensely. Such a warning size of 50 per cent is also much larger than the average of 20 per cent among the top five tobacco producing countries and the global average warning size of 31 per cent".
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Neog said sale of loose cigarettes and other tobacco products also violate section 7 of Cigarettes & Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 2003, which mandates that only tobacco products with specified health warnings can be sold in the country.

Dr Deka further said that efforts were made to culturally change the mindset of the people on consumption of tobacco through awareness and sensitisation of the people.
Stating it was not easy to totally stop consumption of non-smoking tobacco as it is part of custom in the state, she said, an endeavour was being made for approaching the issue through religious leaders to save lives and prevent future deaths due to tobacco use.