A retrograde move

April 02, 2015 03:16 am | Updated November 16, 2021 05:11 pm IST

India’s efforts to curb the growth of tobacco consumption have suffered a severe blow, with the Centre >deferring its own rule requiring packaging of tobacco products to have enlarged pictorial warnings from April 1. Regrettably, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda has turned the clock back by accepting the >untenable logic of the Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation that the issue should be decided after consulting industry stakeholders. Under the amended Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008, tobacco products were required to carry stark images of diseases caused by the substance across 85 per cent of the package area, against the current 40 per cent, to act as deterrents. This forward-looking move is consistent with India’s obligations under the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Moreover, there is a vast body of evidence showing that pictorial warnings have more impact than text. Images of harm prompt smokers to strongly think of giving up the habit, and deter young people from using tobacco. This is particularly true of low and middle income countries, including India, where such warnings can influence behaviour among the less-educated.

The chairman of the parliamentary committee, the BJP MP, Dilip Gandhi, sought to defend its stand on bigger pictorial warnings, saying there are no India-specific studies linking cancer to tobacco use. Such a view flies in the face of well-documented epidemiological research, and has understandably been ridiculed by the medical community which is battling the challenge of cancer and other diseases linked to tobacco. In fact, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in its publication titled ‘Report on Tobacco Control in India’, reported even a decade ago various studies highlighting the health risks. More recent data show that regular smokers have a threefold higher risk of death compared to similarly placed non-smokers, leading to the loss of a whole decade of life. Equally, cessation of smoking and other forms of consumption leads to a significant increase in longevity. The debate on tobacco’s ill-effects has long ended, and countries with enlightened public health policies are focussing on tighter control measures using a combination of high taxes, a ban on advertising, cessation support and changes to packaging rules. Australia has gone beyond pictorial warnings and introduced plain packaging that eliminates brand recognition. India cannot afford to abandon its progress on tobacco control and reverse course on control measures. Pressure from various lobbies must be firmly resisted and the new regulations on expanded pictorial warnings implemented without delay.

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