The National Round-Up council - 2014

The National Round-Up council:

The Union Health Ministry has issued a notification making it mandatory for cigarette  manufacturing companies to carry statutory warning against smoking on both sides of a 
cigarette pack and covering at least 85 percent of the packaging.

 Beginning April 1, 2015, every cigarette packet will carry the statutory warning on both sides with pictorial depiction of throat cancer and a message in English, Hindi or any Indian language.
A gazette notification amending the cigarettes and other Tobacco Products Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008, was also issued on October 15, 2014. 
As per government data, the total economic costs attributable to tobacco use from all diseases in India for people in the 35-69 age group was more than Rs. 1.4 lakhs crore in 2011 and the cost of pre- mature mortality was highest in the 40-44 age group for both men and women.
As per the report The Cigarette Package Health Warnings: International Status Report 2014 released in Moscow on October 14 2014 India has slipped to 136th position in the list of 198 countries that warn smokers about the hazards of smoking through graphic pictures on cigarette packages. 
The report says though India was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the WHO Frame- work Convention on Tobacco Control, it was not complied with the minimum rules. "While many countries mandate images on both sides of tobacco packages India is one of the few countries requiring graphic warning labels to be placed only side of the tobacco on one package," the report says.

Tags: National Round-up council, Union health Ministry, Economic costs Tobacco, WHO, International Status Report 2014,Cigarette Package Health Warnings