The Tamil Nadu Voluntary Health Association and Madras Cancer Care Foundation have called for implementation of the new pictorial health warning on tobacco products without delay.
Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, representatives of the two NGOs said countries such as Japan, Singapore, Peru, Brazil and Thailand had a policy of changing pictorial warnings on tobacco products to ensure that the message of the ills of tobacco use remains fresh in the public's mind.
TNVHA's Executive Director Saulina Arnold called for providing more space for the warning messages on the tobacco products. In Brazil and Thailand, the pictorial warnings are changed every five months. In Japan, the cartons also warn of impotency but in India we are still lobbying for using pictorial warnings, she said.
Director of the Madras Cancer Care Foundation C.S. Mani called for putting pressure on the government.