The Hindu Business Line : Cigarette industry seeks sufficient time for labelling requirements

THE domestic cigarette industry has suggested to the Union Health Ministry that "sufficient time" be granted to them for implementing the proposed labelling requirements on the cigarette packages.

The Health Ministry is currently in discussions with the manufacturers of tobacco products and cigarettes for coming up with the new labelling requirements including the size specifications for warning messages and pictorial depictions of skull and bones.

"In most countries, cigarette manufacturers have got 2-3 years time for implementing the new health warnings on their packs. We (cigarette industry) have told the Ministry that sufficient time be given to industry for implementing the new labelling requirements," Mr Sundeep Kumar, Member on the Board of the Tobacco Institute of India, and Senior Vice-President, Corporate Affairs for Godfrey Phillips India (GPI), told Business Line.

The Health Ministry is likely to specify the area of packaging that has to be devoted for health warnings. "The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has held that 30 per cent of the area of a pack should be devoted to health warnings. We feel that 30 per cent is reasonably prominent," Mr Kumar said. He added that India did not have a homogenous market for tobacco products and therefore the manufacturers here neededsufficient time to conform to the new requirements.

"In our case i.e. GPI, we have to take the permission of Phillip Morris for making changes to the packs as some of the products have been licensed from them. This requires time. We are ready to abide by the labelling requirements but they should not be ambiguous or give unfair advantage to a particular segment."