Imported tobacco products in duty-free shops likely to carry pictorial warnings

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

All imported tobacco products, including cigarettes in the duty free shops in Chennai, are soon expected to bear the pictorial warnings about harmful effects of tobacco on health, according to a state government official.

Dr P Vadivelan, joint director of Health Education Bureau, told Express on the sidelines of State Level Consultation to strengthen National Tobacco Control Programme on Tuesday that a anti-tobacco cell meeting will be held on August 22 where the government will ask the airport authorities to ensure all imported tobacco products carry the new pictorial warnings.

He said the warning should occupy 40 per cent of the display area of the pack. Interestingly, many nations, including Gulf countries, have made it mandatory for imported tobacco products to have pictorial warnings about the harmful impact of tobacco on human health.

Vadivelan also said that till June this year, a total of 7,000 schools across the state has been certified ‘Smoke Free’ and with massive awareness drive plans are on to certify all the education institutions by December this year. The certificate is issued to educational institutes if they adhere to the norms of no-smoking zone within the 100 metres radius of the school besides no usage of tobacco products inside the school.

Vadivelan also said that the health department has collected Rs 68 lakh fine from those who violated the smoking ban in public areas from October 2008 to June 2012. This was collected through challans which the health officials and policemen are entitled to have. He also said that during the pilot project to make Chennai ‘Smoke-free’, a fine of Rs 23 lakh was collected.

He said the state-level consultation meeting was held to confer and draft strategic plan to strengthen National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) in Tamil Nadu.

The main objective of the consultation is to sensitise the civil societies about the tobacco control programme and tobacco control cell besides lobby with the government for a strong support at the programme level for the tobacco control usage. The meeting also discussed policy level plans and activities related to tobacco control programme in the 12^th five-year plan. At the consultation, officials and non governmental organizations highlighted the challenges to implement Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act.