Pictorial warnings on tobacco packs to miss deadline again

TambakooKills News Bulletin

(10 May 2008)

Issue: 375

[To read this posting in Hindi language, please click here]

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Pictorial warnings on tobacco packs to miss deadline again
The Times of India; Saturday, 10 May 2008

EXCERPT:

The Health and Family welfare ministry's plan to introduce pictorial warnings on smoking and smokeless tobacco products from 24 June 2008 has once again fallen through, making it the fifth time in the past one year that the deadline has been missed.

The ministry, on 16 March 2008, issued the final notification according to which pictorial warnings would have to cover 40% of tobacco packs.

It then applied to the Shimla high court, which was monitoring implementation of pictorial warnings, seeking permission to give the industry three months time to implement the order.

As the final hearing was scheduled for March 24, the ministry had tentatively set June 24 as the date from which tobacco packs would have to prominently display pictorial warnings. However, on March 24, the court deferred hearing on the matter.

The new labels were initially planned for February 2007, which was postponed to June 2007, October 2007, December 2007 and March 2008 this year.

The images finalized by a group of minister headed by foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee on March 10 included a picture of a human lung or an X-ray plate of a man's chest affected by cancer for cigarette and beedi packs and an image of a scorpion on chewing and smokeless tobacco products.

To read the complete news, click here
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‘Strong will power helped me quit gutkha’: Ritesh

Published in: DNA, Dainik Aaj, Swatantra Bharat and Jansatta; Saturday, 10 May 2008

EXCERPT:
‘Strong will power helped me quit gutkha’ said Ritesh Arya, who now volunteers since past 5 years with Indian Society Against Smoking (ISAS) in Lucknow. He was sharing his experiences of quitting tobacco use and choosing health over tobacco with slum-dwellers behind Jankipuram in Lucknow. The experts of the tobacco cessation clinic at CSM Medical University provided on-site counseling and registration to the residents along with a health check-up.

To read the complete news, click here

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Jointly brought to you by the Tambakoo-Kills youth team supported by:

Indian Society Against Smoking (ISAS), Abhinav Bharat Foundation (ABF), Asha Parivar, Citizen News Service (CNS) and Tobacco Cessation Clinic of CSM Medical University

Email: Tambakoo.Kills@gmail.com

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