Pictorial warnings can be injurious to rules

BANGALORE: And now, even the pictorial warnings displayed on tobacco product packets are being questioned for their non-compliance with the rules. This was notified by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, under Control of Tobacco Products Act.

Findings by the Institute of Public Health, a city based NGO working in co-ordination with the State Health and Family Welfare have revealed that the warnings are not quite there— at least as far as rules go. As per the rules, pictorial warnings should occupy at least 40 per cent of the principal display area of front panel of tobacco products. The pictures of products in the market were diluted to those of scorpion (on chewing tobacco products) and that of a diseased lung (on smoking tobacco products). It was also made mandatory to have warning labels in the same language as that of the brand name. If more than one language is used on tobacco products, the warnings should be in at least two languages (one language in which brand name appears and any other language that is there on the product).

The Institute of Public Health, with the objective to test the implementation of this particular provision collected tobacco products being sold in the city through retail outlets. These products included 11 commonly used brands of gutkha, 5 brands of khaini and 2 brands of cigarettes that. All these sample products were scrutinised for mandated features of pictorial warnings.

"Of the 11 gutka brands studied, only one brand had warnings covering 40 per cent area of the front panel. Four other brands of gutkha had warnings covering 38-39 per cent of front panel. On the other hand warnings on six brands covered less than 20 per cent (which is half of what is mandated to be minimal coverage area) with one particular brand only covering 9.5 per cent of display area on one side. Of five khaini brands, none covered 40 per cent of front panel. Of the two cigarette brands one was near 40 per cent but other one covered only around 29.5 percent,” said Dr Upendra Bhojani, Faculty, Institute of Public Health.

Besides none of the gutkha brands had warnings in Kannada.

"We also found that only one brand of khaini carried warnings in Kannada. Of the two bidi brands examined, ironically we found one brand having warnings in black and white instead of mandated coloured warnings,” he added.

luna@epmltd.com