No Ifs About The Butts, No Matter How Much You Puff

One of the most powerful and cost-effective mediums to educate consumers about the hazards of smoking is the pictorial health warning on the package of tobacco products itself. It has universal reach, and the cost of package warnings is paid for by the tobacco companies, not the government. It is empirically established from the experiences of other countries that strong pictorial health warnings on tobacco products are powerful communication tools that can take the message of the health hazards of tobacco to the masses, including the illiterate. Health warnings on tobacco product packages are critical to any effective tobacco control strategy, as they deter non starters and motivate consumers to quit. Read more

Article 11 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC – the global tobacco treaty to which India is a signatory) obligates its parties to ensure that tobacco products packages carry appropriate health warnings describing their harmful effects. According to Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, WHO Regional Director for Southeast Asia, "Tobacco is the only legally available product that kills people, and 1.2 million people die from tobacco use in our region annually. An effective tobacco control strategy is, therefore, not just a programmatic necessity but also a moral imperative."

The Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, also mandates pictorial warnings on all tobacco products in India, with annual rotation of pictures/ photographs used in these graphic warnings.

Alas! The death peddling lobby of tobacco/ cigarette manufacturers seems to have a stronger hold on the Indian government, than the right to health of its millions. After many initial delays, India finally put out pictorial warnings on tobacco products from May 31, 2009. These proved to be very mild and hence ineffective. The hazy images of lungs and a scorpion's picture on gutkha and cigarette packets were ludicrously funny, and not scary, to say the least. As per its commitment to the FCTC, and its own obligations to implement domestic laws, the government agreed to replace them, with scarier pictures of cancer stricken mouths, by 1st June 2010. To the dismay of the anti-tobacco activists and all health conscious people, this date was then shifted to 1st December 2010, and now to December 2011.

Once again our democratic government has buckled under the pressure tactics of the tobacco industry. According to a news published recently (click on the link to read the news), a RTI query, filed by Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI), has revealed that the new pictorial warnings on tobacco products were deferred due to pressure from the tobacco industry, including ITC and the Pan Shop Owners Association, which comprises retailers of cigarettes, bidis, chewing tobacco and betel leaf. The government has unashamedly 'admitted' that the new pictorial warnings on tobacco packs have been deferred because of the 'pressure' exerted by the industry and other interested parties. The RTI revealed that the tobacco lobby had also approached the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister of Government of India, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad to delay the implementation. Union Law Minister Shri Veerappa Moily, received a letter from Paan Shops Owners Association of India dated, March 25, 2010, which said, "Due to graphic tobacco warnings, our retailers have seen a decline in the business of our members. About 60 to 70 per cent of the business of these shopkeepers comes from tobacco products, but the impact has been felt beyond just these products as customers are not visiting these outlets. We sincerely hope you will give due consideration to the voice of aam aadmi, that is to defer the introduction of the new health warnings."

The Health Ministry also admits to have received anti-pictorial warning representations from tobacco giants like the ITC and Tobacco Institute of India. One of them, from ITC and dated March 5, 2010 said: 'Rotation of designs every year is not worthwhile as any changes in the graphic elements of the tobacco packs will require substantial redesign of the packs which in turn would necessitate procuring of new printing cylinders and ancillary equipments for a large number of packs.'

Tobacco majors argued that they have large unsold stocks and must be allowed to expend these before the warnings are changed. They threatened to maintain the current halt on fresh production - a move that can impact the labour intensive industry including cultivators.

So the Cabinet not only took a decision on Dec 7 to further defer the pictorial warnings by a year, but the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, through a Gazette notification dated 20.12.2020, amended the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling ) Rules 2008. For Rule 5 the following has been substituted --“Rotation of Specified Health Warnings—The Specified Heath Warning on tobacco packs shall be rotated every two years from the date of notification of the rules or earlier, as the case may be, as specified by the Central Government.”

It would be worth mentioning here that while Indian tobacco products warn consumers with hazy images of lungs and scorpion, other nations clearly depict the devastating impact of tobacco on a smoker’s health through graphic pictorial warnings. A picture from Uruguay shows a baby surrounded by cigarette-smoke rings, warnings from Thailand (it has implemented 9 different pictorial warnings on 50% surface area of cigarette packs) show pictures of a mutilated and cancer-affected mouth.
While Bangladesh has six different types of text warnings covering 30 percent surface area of all smoking tobacco products, Maldives has mandated five different types of textual warnings covering 30 percent surface of the cigarette package.

Even our next door neighbour Pakistan has introduced gory pictorial warnings on all tobacco packs from August 30 in a bid to deter consumers from smoking or chewing tobacco. It has made it mandatory for 40% of all tobacco packs — on both sides — to carry the image of a rotting mouth suffering from cancer along with a health warning.

On the contrary, India, where 2,500 people die daily due to use of tobacco, has put off the introduction of strong and gory pictorial warnings till December 2011. But there is a ray of hope from the judiciary, if not from the executive. Even as the government backed down under pressure, the Supreme Court recently banned plastic packaging for tobacco products. In a reference to the fight against cancer, the Apex Court said that unlike the government, it could not remain a mute spectator to the public health menace and asked the government to implement the order by March 2011, even if it "brings the entire tobacco industry to a standstill."

We can only hope (and fight) for better sense to prevail upon the rulers of our country, so that they do not barter the lives of millions for financial gains of a miniscule, yet powerful segment of society.


Shobha Shukla - CNS
(The author is the Editor of Citizen News Service (CNS) and also serves as the Director of CNS Diabetes Media Initiative (CNS-DMI).She is a J2J Fellow of National Press Foundation (NPF) USA. She has worked earlier with State Planning Institute, UP.  Email: shobha@citizen-news.org, website: www.citizen-news.org)  




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Global community unites against tobacco industry interference

Declaration at treaty meeting affirms priority of public health over trade
PUNTA DEL ESTE, URUGUAY – As the host country for this week's tobacco control treaty meetings braces for a legal challenge from Philip Morris International (PMI) to its graphic cigarette warning labels, 172 Parties are uniting behind Uruguay in a declaration adopted at this meet. The declaration reaffirms the right of Parties to the treaty, "to give priority to their right to public health” over trade, given the “devastating worldwide health, social, economic, and environmental consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke." Read more


“Today, while one deadly corporation disputes the priority of public health over its profits, the global community has begged to differ – taking a unified stand against industry interference and intimidation,” said Gigi Kellett of Corporate Accountability International.

The declaration, proposed by Uruguay, can immediately assist the country in its case with PMI, not to mention the countless Parties facing similar legal intimidation, industry interference in health policy, and manipulation of the treaty process.

The document:
- reaffirms that health is a fundamental right of every human being;
- affirms the sovereign right of all Parties to protect health policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry;
- declares Parties’ concern regarding the tobacco industry’s current and ongoing efforts to “subvert and undermine government policies on tobacco control;”
- declares the need to exchange information nationally and internationally regarding the tobacco industry’s efforts to interfere in the implementation of the treaty;
- encourages non-Parties, such as the United States, to ratify and implement the treaty.

The full language of the declaration will be made available here.

“Uruguay is not alone in its struggle and the legal challenge that spurred this declaration is not the only reason for its being proposed,” said Yul Francisco Dorado, Latin America Director for Corporate Accountability International. “Just this week, the industry has used front groups to bully delegates and mislead the media. It has sent dozens of representatives to walk the halls of a treaty meeting it is prohibited from participating in. And worse, it has sent delegates to participate directly under the auspices of government agencies. This declaration says enough is enough, we cannot get down to the business of saving lives unless Big Tobacco is directly challenged.”

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Big Tobacco undermines health policy as treaty meetings face similar abuse: Report

Uruguay proposes resolution calling for unity in face of tobacco industry interference
PUNTA DEL ESTE, URUGUAY: A new investigative report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists exposes a wide range of tactics employed by the tobacco industry to undermine advances being made by the global tobacco treaty. Threats to health policy include aggressive lobbying and legal intimidation, to charitable donations and even outright payoffs. Read more


Even as Parties meet to discuss how to overcome such obstacles – the primary threat in advancing a treaty the World Health Organization projects could save 200 million lives by 2050 – industry tactics have followed countries to this week’s treaty negotiations in Uruguay.

Not only are dozens of tobacco industry representatives crowding the halls of the negotiation each day, industry is also playing a role in the seating of delegates in attendance. These delegates are the eyes, ears, and voice piece of an industry that has otherwise been prohibited from directly participating in the negotiations and health policy under a core provision of the treaty.

One such example is Zimbabwe, a non-Party observer. Despite being cash strapped, the country somehow mustered the funds to send 10 delegates to Uruguay days after a prominent tobacco industry front group disparaged guidelines being negotiated this week to the Wall Street Journal. To put this in perspective, more than 35 ratifying countries were unable to send even a single representative. Worse, though the treaty requires that health policies and negotiations be protected from “commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry,” Zimbabwe’s delegation includes representatives from the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board, as well as ministries whose priority is either trade or agriculture.

“A reminder is needed that we are here to devise solutions to save people’s lives,” said Sam Ochieng of the Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals and Consumer Information Network Kenya. “Progress is not possible if the long arm of industry is able to reach into and manipulate a conversation that rightly excludes Big Tobacco.”

Tobacco growing countries like Zimbabwe may be the most brazen, but are not unique when it comes to sending representatives from ministries whose objectives may be at odds with the treaty’s guiding principle that the public’s health be prioritized over trade. Of the 438 Party delegates listed in the provisional list of participants, 74 delegates represent ministries other than health. Egregious examples include Macedonia’s delegation which has no health ministry representation. Of its 19 member delegation, China sent five delegates from its state-owned tobacco corporation.

While some non-health ministries may have legitimate reason for inclusion in a delegation, such as representation from finance ministries in anticipation of discussions regarding tobacco taxation; for others such appointments further expose the primary obstacle to treaty implementation – the fact that industry has a voice it shouldn’t within government in deciding health policy.    

“This is not to say the vast majority of countries here are not acting with integrity, just that Parties must be unified in challenging tobacco industry interference for the treaty to progress,” said Corporate Accountability International’s Latin America Director Yul Francisco Dorado.

In this vein, Uruguay has proposed a resolution calling for Parties to stand together in confronting the manner of legal intimidation it and other countries are now facing from Philip Morris International.

Corporate Accountability International and its partners are pushing for the inclusion of a provision giving the Secretariat representing the Parties to the treaty a voice during legal proceedings. (CNS)

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As treaty meetings open, Big Tobacco’s bullying looms

Success hinges on treaty financing, limiting industry interference
PUNTA DEL ESTE, URUGUAY: A weeklong treaty meetings commenced on 15 November 2010 as an industry prohibited from participating attempts to influence its outcomes from the outside looking in. Philip Morris International (PMI) is launching a legal attack against Uruguay for implementing the global tobacco treaty (formally known as the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control) by requiring graphic warning labels on its cigarettes. Read more


While PMI’s move is intended to make an example of the host country of the 170 plus ratifying Parties, such action is not unique to Uruguay according to a report by Corporate Accountability International. The U.S.-based corporate watchdog has documented similar legal challenges from the United Kingdom to Norway. The organization also details how Big Tobacco undermines treaty implementation by seating executives in key governmental positions, flaunting prohibitions on youth marketing, and offering sizable gifts to bureaucrats.

“The primary challenge the treaty faces is not a lack of political or public will, but a defiant, invasive, and ultimately deadly industry,” said Gigi Kellett of Corporate Accountability International. “Ending tobacco industry interference is paramount to the success of these meetings and the treaty at large.”

In evaluating interference as the primary obstacle to the treaty’s ability to save a projected 200 million lives by 2050 at the last treaty meeting in Durban, South Africa in 2008, Corporate Accountability International and its allies supported Parties in crafting strong guidelines to help countries overcome Big Tobacco’s bullying. The guidelines put teeth in a core provision of the treaty that dictates, “in setting and implementing their public health policies with respect to tobacco control, Parties shall act to protect these policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with national law."

As the Corporate Accountability International report demonstrates, these new guidelines have been highly effective in limiting interference and conflicts of interest. Countries have done everything from divesting in tobacco corporations to rejecting official partnerships with tobacco giants around so-called “corporate social responsibility” initiatives.

But industry continues to exploit and look for openings to undo the progress of the last two years.

“It’s essential this week that no matter what is being advanced – whether it’s more comprehensive ingredient disclosure or demand reduction programs – that Parties make sure safeguards against industry interference are part of the text,” said Samuel Ochieng, spokesperson for the Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) and Consumer Information Network Kenya. “We cannot allow Big Tobacco any opening to thwart our progress toward saving lives.”

This week Parties are hoping to adopt implementation guidelines for articles to increase the effectiveness of public awareness and education efforts (Article 12), to develop comprehensive cessation and treatment programs (Article 14) and to increase the regulation and disclosure of tobacco products’ ingredients (Articles 9 and 10). These guidelines clarify the mandated provisions of the treaty and provide further direction to Parties on how to implement these specific tobacco control measures.

Corporate Accountability International and allied organizations are also urging Parties to initiate a work group around treaty financing. Currently, Parties to the treaty provide a “voluntary assessed contribution” that is based on a sliding scale. These funds, however, provide insufficient support to developing economies attempting to implement the treaty. In most cases, the countries in greatest need of financial support are the same countries targeted by the tobacco industry as expansion markets.

“The global tobacco treaty can only be a potent instrument for protecting public health and counterweight against the industry’s abuses if it is adequately funded,” said Bobby Ramakant of India’s Asha Parivar and NATT. “It’s time for Parties to begin exploring options that require an abusive industry to pay for the harm it has caused."

Treaty meetings conclude Saturday, November 20. Corporate Accountability International’s ally, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, will be releasing further findings on industry interference on Tuesday, 16 November at the Barradas Parque Hotel at 10:30 am.

For a copy of Corporate Accountability International’s report visit www.ChallengingBigTobacco.org

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Tobacco Industry Interference in implementing global tobacco treaty in Thailand

Dr Prakit Vathisathokit

During the 10th International Week of Resistance to Tobacco Transnationals (IWR) during 4-8 October 2010, civil society groups from around the world told the world: how tobacco industry interferes in the implementation of the global tobacco treaty, formally known as the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Thailand, was one of the countries where veteran tobacco control stalwarts like Professor (Dr) Prakit Vathisathokit, shared how tobacco industry interferes in the implementation of global tobacco treaty and also in enforcing their domestic tobacco control policies in the country. Prof (Dr) Prakit is the Executive Secretary of ASH Thailand. Read more


"When we made a decision to increase the size of pictorial warning on tobacco packages in Thailand, tobacco companies had some movement against us. These companies sent the letter to object to this move to increase size of pictorial warnings, and asked for the supportive evidence to prove that the bigger size of pictorial warning will help people quit tobacco use" Prof (Dr) Prakit said. Professor (Dr) Prakit Vathisathokit is also a Bloomberg International Awardee on pictorial warnings (2009).

According to Prof (Dr) Prakit, over 6 million Thai people have quit smoking during 1996 - 2006. Referring to the Baltimore study, he points out that around 1.6 million Thai people didn't begin to smoke because of the effective pictorial warning on the cigarette packages.

"Another case is the 'Article 9: Regulation of the contents of tobacco products' of the WHO-FCTC, which is about disclosing the ingredients of a tobacco product on the pack. The tobacco transnational companies mobilized the tobacco growers around the world against implementing Article 9 of WHO-FCTC and even in Thailand, we are yet to reach a conclusion owing to this interference" said Prof (Dr) Prakit. In the forthcoming Conference of the Parties (COP-4) meeting of the WHO-FCTC in Uruguay (15-20 November 2010), this is going to be one of the contentious issues on implementing Article 9 of WHO-FCTC.

"Even though the law doesn't allow it, we often see that the tobacco transnational companies have tried to interfere indirectly in health policy, by exploiting the loopholes in the law, using the name of the company to support activities with school or other events, and often sponsor the concert which is illegal. They don't want to let Thai government come up with a more effective law that will strengthen the tobacco control" said Prof (Dr) Prakit.

Prof (Dr) Prakit said: "This [known examples of how tobacco industry is interfering in implementation of global tobacco treaty] is what we have seen often in our country, but how about the other things that we don't know [on how tobacco industry is interfering in implementing the global tobacco treaty."

The 10th International Week Resistance to Tobacco Transnationals (IWR) reminds us that a lot more needs to be done to ensure that the governments around the world put people before profit, and protect public health policy from tobacco industry interference. Maybe it's time for us to monitor tobacco transnational companies more vigilantly and put more pressure on the law enforcement agencies for closing the loopholes in the existing tobacco control laws.






Jittima Jantanamalaka - CNS
(The author is the Managing Director of Jay Inspire Co. Ltd (JICL), produces radio programmes in northern Thailand and writes for Citizen News Service (CNS). She is also the Director of CNS Diabetes Media Initiative (CNS-DMI) in Thailand. Website: www.jay-inspire.com, Email: jittima@citizen-news.org)


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10th IWR: protect public health policies from tobacco industry interference

This year's 10th International Week of Resistance to Tobacco Transnationals (10th IWR), which began on Monday, the 4th of October was kick started by Tobacco industry watchdog, Corporate Accountability International, Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) and its allies, releasing a new report documenting widespread tobacco industry interference in the implementation of the global tobacco treaty (formally known as the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control - WHO FCTC). The IWR Week is part of the ongoing efforts to bring together anti-tobacco groups to expose industry obstructionism in implementing tobacco control policies in countries around the globe. It provides an opportunity for the global community to speak out in solidarity. Read more


Is it a mere coincidence that during this week only, Global Tobacco Networking Forum (GTNF-2010), a large-scale tobacco industry event termed as the "greatest tobacco talk show on earth", is being held in Bangalore in India? This  is a global industry meet of the top tobacco producing and manufacturing companies, to discuss ways to increase and improve production of tobacco worldwide.

The Tobacco Board, a Government of India entity under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, was unashamedly a sponsor to this event, in direct contravention of Article 5.3 of the global tobacco treaty (FCTC) to which India is a signatory.

Article 5.3 of the global tobacco treaty FCTC obligates ratifying countries to protect their health policies from tobacco industry interference. 

The Institute of Public Health (IPH), Bangalore, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) as this sponsorship violated international laws and obligations under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and national laws like the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Prohibition Act, 2003. The court order dated 17 September 2010, said Dr Upendra Bhojani of Institute of Public Health (IPH), asked the Government of India's Tobacco Board should take back Rs 326,620 from this event (GTNF-2010) if the money has been given already, if not, then no money should be given by the Tobacco Board of the government to this event. Dr Bhojani said, that the court order of 17 September 2010 also said that the logo of the Government of India's Tobacco Board should be removed from tobacco industry event's (GTNF-2010) website.

In an exclusive interview given to CNS, Dr. Upendra Bhojani, petitioner of the PIL and a public health researcher at the IPH shared his euphoria over this small but significant victory of public health advocates.

Explaining the sequence of events he said that they came to know of the involvement of the Government of India's Tobacco Board in this conference (GTNF-2010) in April 2010. Thereafter an application was filed by them under the Right To Information (RTI) Act, seeking complete information on the issue. Their fears were not unfounded. The Tobacco Board had not only allowed its logo (as one of the co-sponsors) to be used by the tobacco industry's event - GTNF-2010, it had also provided financial support of over Rs 326,620 for the said conference. This direct involvement of a government agency, in gross violation of Article 5.3 guidelines of the global tobacco treaty (FCTC), sent out the message that the government was indirectly supporting the policies of tobacco industry for expanding its trade of peddling poison.

A mass movement was launched at the behest of IPH, Bangalore, and other social organizations. More than 37,000 signatures were collected as part of the campaign demanding that the Tobacco Board withdraw its financial and moral support to the event, and that the government should not be a party to any pro-tobacco activities that jeopardize public health. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by The Institute of Public Health (IPH), Bangalore, in the Karnataka High Court against this sponsorship of the Tobacco Board. On September 17, a bench comprising Honorable Justice Shailendra Kumar passed a landmark order for the Tobacco Board to withdraw all kinds of sponsorship and support from the event, said Dr Upendra Bhojani. The order passed by the high court asked the Tobacco Board to remove its logo from the website of the organizers and to withdraw any financial support provided to the event, said Dr Upendra Bhojani.

The order noted that "…the board keeping company with them (cigarette manufacturers of leading brands across the world) itself may amount to conveying a message that the board is in league with such companies in promoting their products which is most undesirable.... they (the Tobacco Board) are to be restrained as the very participation is not a desirable act…it will be against public health, which cannot be compensated later."

The court ruled that "…while the board can continue to promote tobacco industry in other areas, but not related to human consumption of tobacco leading to the affectation of the health of the general public…"

In the words of Dr Bhojani, "It's a great victory for we had been campaigning against the Government sponsorship for months on end, especially now, when the logo has come off the website."

IPH has got an order that will prevent the Government of India's Tobacco Board from participating in the event. The organization is also looking at challenging the mandate of the tobacco board in sponsoring such events in the future. Bhojani said, "Tobacco has transcended beyond a medical issue. It has even gone into becoming a legal issue. So it's a deadly evil that has many sides but it can be controlled and that is what we're aiming for."

The government as well as other stakeholders should not forget that Article 5.3 of FCTC clearly states that "parties should not accept, support, or endorse the tobacco industry organizing, promoting, participating in, or performing, youth, public education or any initiatives that are directly or indirectly related to tobacco control."

What's at stake are as many as 200 million lives - the number of lives the World Health Organization projects would be spared by 2050 if the treaty takes full effect.

Shobha Shukla - CNS
(The author is the Editor of Citizen News Service (CNS) and also serves as the Director of CNS Gender Initiative and CNS Diabetes Media Initiative (CNS-DMI). She has worked earlier with State Planning Institute, UP, and teaches Physics at India's prestigious Loreto Convent. Email: shobha@citizen-news.org, website: www.citizen-news.org)

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Outrage against delay in pictorial warnings on tobacco products in India

In a detractive decision of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India (GOI), the implementation of new pictorial health warnings has been deferred to December 1, 2010 from the earlier commitment of introducing them from June 1, 2010. In March 2010, civil society organizations had joined hands to applaud the government's efforts in notifying effective pictorial warning of cancer-stricken mouth on packs of both smoking and smokeless tobacco. However, this delay in implementation of new pictorial warnings by the GOI is worrying civil society organizations, as in the past, this oscillating stand of the Government had led to further weakening and dilutions of warnings. Read more



Fifty-two organizations under the umbrella of the Advocacy Forum for Tobacco Control (AFTC) met in Mumbai from June 23-25 and deliberated on the delay in enforcement of pictorial health warnings on tobacco products. AFTC is a coalition of 63 pan Indian organizations working in the area of advocacy, awareness, promotion and research related to tobacco control in India. Its main goal is to advance policies for control of tobacco, which is a major public health threat that claims close to 1 million victims annually in India.

"In India the pictorial warnings that got implemented from 31 May 2009 were mild, weak and not field tested," said Professor (Dr) Rama Kant, Executive Director of Tobacco Cessation Clinic (TCC) at the Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (CSMMU), and a World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General's Awardee (2005). "These pictorial warnings are to be rotated every year as per the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003. As per an earlier GOI notification, the new pictorial health warnings that were to be implemented from 1 June 2010, were stronger and field-tested, however as a major setback to public health, these warnings have been further delayed till 1 December 2010" informs Prof Rama Kant.

Independent studies assessing the efficacy of pictorial warnings conducted by organizations like Healis-Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health and HRIDAY (Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth) have proven that the existing warnings on the packs of tobacco products do not effectively communicate the lethal consequences of tobacco use. The new pictorial warnings notified to be implemented from June 2010 onwards were field tested for effectiveness by the Government before notifying them.

"This is another example of possible interference in public health policy by either tobacco industry, their allies or supporters of tobacco trade. Because the tobacco industry sells a product that kills one million people in India annually, therefore, industry's interests will always be in conflict with public health. It is high time that national tobacco control policies in India are congruent to what India is obligated to do by ratifying the international global tobacco treaty - WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). India and other parties to WHO FCTC had adopted the strong guidelines for Article 5.3, to protect health policies from tobacco industry interference" said Bobby Ramakant, from the Indian Society Against Smoking, Asha Parivar, who also represents Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT).

There has been reported decline in tobacco use in developing countries such as Thailand (ITC project, Thailand), which has been attributed by smokers to effective pictorial warnings on tobacco packs. “Why would not the Indian Government feel the urgent need to implement effective pictorial health warnings to prevent the unnecessary deaths from tobacco use?” questioned the concerned AFTC members.

Also, the coalition collectively highlighted the importance of pictorial warnings in conveying the harmful health effects of tobacco to users, especially in rural areas and those unable to read and write.

During the AFTC conference in Mumbai, tobacco control professionals across India resolved to strongly counteract this Industry pressure and the continuous soft stand of the Government towards pictorial health warnings on tobacco products, and ensure no further delay and dilution of health warnings in India.

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Women: Tobacco's future face

As tobacco consumption rises among women and youth, warning sign has gone out to the world on World No Tobacco Day (31 May 2010), also from the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) foundation Thailand.

This year 2010, also marks the "Year of the Lung" campaign and the studies show that 50% of all deaths from lung disease are linked to tobacco use. "Currently, we know that 9% of Thai women are using tobacco and that over 1 million are actually exposed at home to harm from second hand smoke" said Anne Jones, Technical adviser of The Union. Read more

"Also smoking or tobacco use rates are very high among 13-25 years old and this is really a major concern in Thailand" she added.

Anne insisted that "smoking or using tobacco is not only undermining their health and their fertility, but it also harms their family whether they have children or not. Children will be adversely affected and harmed by exposure to tobacco use. I don't think parents want their children to grow up and become tobacco users."

She is also asking women and young girls to say no to tobacco, get some help if already addicted and realize that the glamorization of tobacco use is only a marketing tactic of tobacco industry who don't care at all about the health of population and only care about making money.

Anne's views are supported by Dr Prakit Vathisathokit, Executive Secretary of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), Thailand, who said that, "there are more than 1,000 million people over the world using tobacco, and 200 million out of that are women. According to the studies done in 151 countries, female teenagers have higher rate of tobacco use than in the past, with tobacco use rates around 7% or 12% in some countries which is the same rate as of the male teenager. While the numbers show that tobacco use in men is still the same, there is a possibility that rates of tobacco use in women might be higher in future."

"In the past, the anti-tobacco campaign were mainly focused on men so women are now becoming the new important target group for tobacco industry, and industry has developed its strategy, improved the tobacco product with new taste like fruit or printed label showing that it's 'mild' or 'light' cigarettes, and released new design and brand name to lure the new customer and communicate that it is charming and smoking will help to reduce weight" said Dr Prakit Vathisathokit.

"Moreover the industry has also initiated women and youth to a new way of smoking which is called 'hookah' or 'baragu' through deceptive tobacco promotion in films, online social networks and internet which allow people to access tobacco easier" said Dr Prakit Vathisathokit.

"The Union has been strongly recommending the Thai Government to do more by comprehensively banning all the remaining forms of tobacco advertising so that tobacco use is not seen as something as glamourous or something that is normal" said Anne Jones.

"Tobacco use is really something that is not normal because if you become a tobacco user you are going to get disease and you are going to die early and that's not something that anybody want. So I think the government can reinforce a lot of these health promotion messages through the health promotion foundations, through tough legislation and supporting messages to encourage tobacco user to quit smoking and encourage young people not to take it up in the first place."

It has been praiseworthy, according to Dr Chai Kritiyapichatkul, National Tobacco Control Officer for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Thailand, that this year there were three Thai people who have received the WHO's Director-General's World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) Award. The Thai award winners include: Mr Taweesin Satitrattanacheewin, Editor, Thai Post Newspaper; Professor Dr Somsri Pausawasdi, Thai Health Professional Alliance Against Tobacco; and Dr Suthat Rungruanghiranya, Assistant Professor, Srinakharinwirot Universtiy Medical Center, in Thailand.

"Thailand is regarded as the tobacco control leader in this region that made some very good progress in reducing the harm caused by tobacco use but you can never become complacent on tobacco control because the tobacco industry is very creative, very well resourced and very determined to sell many products as they can. So it's up to the government to ensure that the health of population, the health of their people is put first and ahead of the commercial interest of the tobacco industry" Anne Jones remarked.

Hope sanity prevails and governments around the world, put people before profits and protect young people and women from tobacco use.

Jittima Jantanamalaka - CNS

(The author is the Managing Director of Jay Inspire Co. Ltd (JICL), and produces radio programmes in northern Thailand. She is also the Director of CNS Diabetes Media Initiative (CNS-DMI) in Thailand, and a Fellow of CNS Writers' Bureau. Website: www.jay-inspire.com, Email: jittima@citizen-news.org )

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Tobacco Laws And Their Implementation – The Horror of Reality

[To see CNS photo gallery of this event, click here]

It was an eye opener for the team members to see the apathy of citizens and lackadaisical attitude of implementing authorities, for tackling this serious issue. They had their own suggestions to offer. One girl suggested that tobacco growers switch over to Jatropa plantation. This would serve a dual purpose – tobacco growers will have an alternate and economically viable crop to grow and the ominous shifting of land, currently being used to grow food crops, towards Jatropa cultivation will be controlled. At the same time we will have enough base material for bio fuels. Another girl felt that children can use their blackmail tactics upon their elders to force them to quit smoking and eating tobacco. Read more

Tobacco Laws And Their Implementation
The Horror of Reality
[To see CNS photo gallery of this event, click here]

Are the tobacco control laws, as envisaged in the COTPA (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act 2003) and the Ban on Smoking in Public Places being enforced and followed in the city of Lucknow? And are the citizens any wiser about the hazards of smoking and tobacco consumption?

To find the ground reality, some students of Class XII of Loreto Convent College, recently did a random survey of the city of Lucknow, as part of their Environmental Education Project. They surveyed 200 persons (150 males and 50 females) of various age groups, and coming from different strata of society- -from rickshaw pullers to executives.

They traversed the entire city clicking photographs of shops/kiosks selling cigarettes and other tobacco products much within 100metres range of educational institutions. They searched in vain, for signage in schools/colleges proclaiming that smoking is prohibited in the premises. They examined the tobacco/gutkha pouches for the information printed on them, and even posed as customers and easily bought cigarette and tobacco packs, despite being less than 18 years of age.

Some of the results of this survey were startling indeed.
Although a large majority of the respondents (98.5%) had heard anti tobacco messages on television/radio, yet more than 70% of the males and 50% females were found to be users of tobacco products.

Maximum consumption was in the age group of 19-23 years (21%) and minimum in the group 49-53 years (6%).

The following points emerging from this study indicate the violation of one or more of some of the provisions of COTPA 2003.

Ban On Smoking In Public Places: 41% of the respondents confessed to have smoked in public places, but surprisingly 94% of the offenders were neither checked nor fined for this violation. More that 29% respondents said that there was no ban on smoking at their workplace.

Ban On Sale Of Tobacco Products To (and By) Minors: Out of all the minors surveyed (males and females), 81% of the males and 33% of the females were tobacco users. 76% of the people felt that it was very easy for minors to buy tobacco. In fact, more than 51% of the respondents had bought tobacco products from minors, at some time or the other.

Tobacco Products Cannot Be Sold Within A Radius Of 100yards Of Educational Institutions:
78% of the people said that they had seen tobacco shops within 100 yards radius of schools and colleges. In fact, out 36 schools/colleges which the students personally visited, 30 had one or more shops selling cigarettes and tobacco products, in some cases right next to their entry gates.

Ban On Direct And Indirect Advertising Of Tobacco Products: Out of the 20 gutkha packets of different brands studied by the students, 7 were known to be regularly advertised on television, radio, cinema halls. These were Pan Parag, Manikchand, Rajnigandha, Kamla Pasand, Rajshree and Tulsi.
But the implementation of the law seems to be stricter in case of cigarettes with none of the brands being advertised through any communication medium.

English And One Or More Indian Languages To Be Used For Health Warnings On Tobacco Packs: Only 13 out of the 20 gutkha packets had warnings in Hindi and English, with 5 of them also mentioning ‘Not for sale to minors’. The brand ‘Aadar’ has mentioned the warning in Hindi on some packs and in English on others, in contravention of the law.

Ingredients Should Be Declared On Tobacco Product Packs: Only 12 gutkha brands had mentioned some ingredients (the safe ones). The nicotine and tar content was not mentioned on any pack.

It was an eye opener for the team members to see the apathy of citizens and lackadaisical attitude of implementing authorities, for tackling this serious issue. They had their own suggestions to offer. One girl suggested that tobacco growers switch over to Jatropa plantation. This would serve a dual purpose – tobacco growers will have an alternate and economically viable crop to grow and the ominous shifting of land, currently being used to grow food crops, towards Jatropa cultivation will be controlled. At the same time we will have enough base material for bio fuels. Another girl felt that children can use their blackmail tactics upon their elders to force them to quit smoking and eating tobacco.

The students have documented the information collected in the form of survey sheet questionnaires, photographs and real specimen of cigarette and tobacco packets.

They shared their findings with the media, at a Press Conference organized in the premises of Loreto Convent College, Lucknow, and aired their views candidly.

On this occasion, Professor (Dr) Rama Kant, Head of the Surgery Department, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (CSMMU) - erstwhile King George's Medical College (KGMC), and a well known anti-tobacco crusader, had a very interactive session with the students. He commended them for this one of its kind study, and impressed upon the importance of girls being involved in the campaign against tobacco, as tobacco companies are now targeting children and women to become their potential customers. As more and more men succumb to the fatal effects of cigarettes and chewing tobacco, these companies want to woo youngsters, especially females, to have a steady supply of customers for many years to come. Their attempts have to be thwarted at all costs. This all the more important, as the health ill effects of tobacco/cigarettes manifest themselves after a prolonged time. So the user feels quite comfortable ‘for the time being’. For those addicted to tobacco/smoking, de addiction centres offer good services. But these have to be supplemented with good counselling of the patient and his/her family.

The sincere and honest efforts of the students in executing this project are commendable indeed. The survey has helped them get a deeper insight of the menace of tobacco and made them more sensitive about the need to eradicate this scourge from society. They have just touched the tip of the iceberg. Their sincere efforts need to be replicated, so that a mass ‘anti tobacco’ awareness movement is started amongst the other school/college students of the city.

Shobha Shukla
(The author is the Editor of Citizen News Service(CNS), Director of CNS Diabetes Media Initiative, has worked earlier with State Planning Institute, UP, and teaches Physics at India's prestigious Loreto Convent. Email: shobha@citizen-news.org, website: www.citizen-news.org)

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Tobacco Industry Today