Tobacco Free Kerala welcomes SC ruling

Tobacco Free Kerala – a coalition of like-minded organisations for tobacco control – lauds the public-health friendly stance taken by the apex court while upholding the rule mandating 85 per cent pictorial warnings on all tobacco products.

Pronouncing its judgement, the Division Bench of the Supreme Court led by the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India noted in its 13-page-order that “health of a citizen has primacy” and that citizens are entitled to know about things that cause “destruction of health”, implying tobacco in this instance.

Attorney General Mr. K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the Union of India, said that “life sans health is not worth living and the chewing of tobacco or smoking of cigarettes or bidis, etc. causes irretrievable hazard to health and it is the obligation of the State to make the people aware as regards the injurious nature of these indulgences.”

Addiction to tobacco “becomes the killing factor or causation of pain, suffering, agony, anguish and ultimately death”, he had submitted.

The stay comes on the order of the Karnataka High Court that struck down the 85 per cent pictorial warnings rule on 15 December 2017.  

It was on October 15, 2014, that the Union Health Ministry brought out a notification requiring tobacco companies to devote 85 per cent of all tobacco product packs including bidis, cigarettes, and smokeless items to pictorial warnings. After some delay, it took effect from 1 April 2016.

With this judgement, India has also maintained its global image by retaining the third position on pack warnings in its ranking of 205 countries as per the “Cigarette Package Health Warning International Status Report” put out by the Canadian Cancer Society in October 2016.

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Supreme Court Sets Aside Order On Pictorial Warning On Tobacco Packs

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the operation of a Karnataka High Court order setting aside 2014 rules mandating that 85 per cent space on both sides of packets of cigarettes and other tobacco products carry pictorial warning on their harmful effects.

Staying the December 15, 2017 order of the Karnataka High Court, the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said: "We are inclined to think that health of a citizen has primacy and he or she should be aware of what can affect or deteriorate the condition of health."

Pronouncing the order, Chief Justice Misra said: "We may hasten to add that deterioration may be a milder word and, therefore, in all possibility the expression 'destruction of health' is apposite."

Having stayed the operation of the High Court order, the court on Monday fixed March 12 for final hearing in the matter.

The stay order came on a plea by NGO Health for Million Trust and a senior lawyer of Allahabad High Court Umesh Narain.

The Central government had, in 2014, amended the Cigarette and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules prescribing that 85 per cent space on both sides of the tobacco packaging would be covered with the statutory warnings telling consumers that cigarette smoking and tobacco chewing were harmful to health.

The amended rules came into force from April 1, 2016.

The Cigarette and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendments Rules, 2014 were framed under the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003.

Prior to the 2014 amendment of the rules, the pictorial warning was limited to 40 per cent space of the packaging and that too on one side only.

Source: NDTV

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Yikhum Village becomes 1st tobacco free village in Nagaland

Yikhum Village has become the first tobacco free village in Wokha district of Nagaland. The initiative to make the village free from tobacco (sale of tobacco), was taken up by the Yikhum Baptist Church (YBC) in 2015. 

The effort of YBC to eradicate tobacco selling from the village was laudable considering the high risk of harmful effects on tobacco usage, also Nagaland ranks as the 2nd highest tobacco consuming state in India with 57% of the population using tobacco, as per NTCP.

Speaking to Nagaland Post, YBC Pastor Zanbemo Kithan said that the shopkeepers/sellers selling tobacco were a little reluctant when the church leaders first approached them.

He however, said as the time for revival approached almost all the shopkeepers volunteered to respect the church initiative, came out openly and burned their stocked tobacco.

According to Kithan, 13 shops were selling tobacco, but after the declaration six shops completely shut down and took up farming while the remaining continues their business without selling tobacco.

Source: The North East Today

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