Beedi makers threaten to halt production

An Indian woman rolls bidi, or shredded tobacco hand-rolled, in Prantij, near Himmatnagar, about 60 kilometers (38 miles) north of Ahmadabad, India, Tuesday, May 31, 2011. Bidis are popular among poor Indians because they are significantly cheaper. A packet of 10 costs about 2 rupees (about 5 US cents; euro 0.03) while the cheapest cigarettes cost 1 rupee (2 US cents; euro 0.01) apiece. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

Taking a cue from the cigarette industry that has reportedly stopped making cigarettes, India’s beedi industry too has threatened to follow suit.

Beedi or hand-rolled cigarettes make up over 85% of smoked tobacco.

April 1 was to be the day when cigarette manufacturers were to ensure that 85% of the surface area of their cigarette packages be covered with warnings on the harm posed by tobacco. However, a parliamentary panel, that controversially involved members from the tobacco industry, had said last month that these stipulations were “too harsh.”

That 15-member committee also recommended that pictorial warnings be restricted to only 50 per cent on both sides of the cigarette packets and, in the case of beedis, chewing tobacco and other tobacco products, the warning be restricted to 50 per cent of the display area and on only one side of the packet.

‘Compliance impossible’

In a late evening release on Thursday, the beedi industry said the requirement was impossible to adhere to. “It is possible for the cigarette makers to change their machines and print packets that adhere to the 85% requirement, but it is practically impossible for us,” said Arjun Khanna, a spokesperson for the All India Beedi Industry Federation, “as beedis are handrolled.”

The new rules require that labels displaying the health warning cover a 3.5X4 cm rectangular label but that exceeds the size of the average beedi packet and the curved area and wrapping paper edges would overlap. Due to this no beedis were being produced since April 1, Mr. Khanna told The Hindu .