Health , Tobacco: INDIA vs WORLD , Tobacco Health Warnings , Thousands shall continue to die every day while politicians sit on their hands, Mr Pranab Mukherjee – NO NEW /INCREASED TAX on Tobacco Products is proposed , Tobacco Production In India this year Has increased by a Whopping 50 %instead of Reducing in accordance to Signed International Treaties

1. Tobacco: INDIA vs WORLD
madhukar katiyar

2. WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY 2009
31 May 2009
Theme: Tobacco Health Warnings

3. • The World Health Organization (WHO) has selected
"Tobacco Health Warnings" as the theme for the next
World No Tobacco Day, which will take place on 31 May
2009.
• Tobacco health warnings appear on packs of cigarettes
and are among the strongest defenses against the global
epidemic of tobacco.
• WHO particularly approves of tobacco health warnings
that contain both pictures and words because they are
the most effective at convincing people to quit. Such
pictorial warnings appear in more than a dozen
countries.
• On World No Tobacco Day 2009, and throughout the
following year, WHO will encourage governments to
adopt tobacco health warnings that meet all the criteria
for maximal effectiveness, including that they cover more
than half of the pack, appear on both the front and back
of the pack and contain pictures.

4. • The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control obligates its more than 160 countries
parties to require "health warnings describing
the harmful effects of tobacco use" on packs of
tobacco and their outside packaging and
recommends that the warnings contain pictures.
WHO works through its Tobacco Free Initiative
department to help the parties to meet their
obligation, providing technical and other
assistance.
• As WHO Director General Margaret Chan says,
"We hold in our hands the solution to the global
tobacco epidemic that threatens the lives of one
billion men, women and children during this
century."
• Tobacco health warnings are a big part of the
solution about which she speaks.

8. Tobacco Pictorial
Warnings
of
AUSTRALIA

23. Tobacco Pictorial
Warnings
of
BRAZIL

33. Tobacco Pictorial
Warnings
of
CANADA

42. Tobacco Pictorial
Warnings
of
EUROPEAN UNION

63. Tobacco Pictorial
Warnings
of
SINGAPORE

70. Tobacco Pictorial
Warnings
of
Thailand

79. Tobacco Pictorial
Warnings
of
VENEZUELA

85. ? INDIA(?An Emerging Superpower)

86. • Former Union Health Minister’s ambitious
plan to introduce pictorial warnings on the
tobacco products was delayed with then
External Affairs Minister and current
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee saying
that the pictorial warning on cigarettes
packets and other tobacco products
cannot be “totally repulsive” .
• Mukherjee, who headed the GoM looking
into the issue of pictorial warning, also
stressed on the need to rehabilitate those
engaged in bidi manufacturing.

88. • With tobacco workers forming a 10-lakh
strong vote bank in India, the group of
ministers (GoM) headed by foreign minister
Pranab Mukherjee was expected to put on
hold the pictorial warnings which it did.
• The deadline for warnings was moved for the
fifth time in two years.
• The GoM meeting was held on Wednesday at
Mukherjee's residence!!!! Mukherjee, Anand
Sharma, Oscar Fernandes, Kamal Nath and
Jaipal Reddy -- having a strong vote base
among tobacco workers, had a free hand in
putting the warnings on hold once again.
• Interestingly no decision was taken due to
LACK OF QUORUM

90. • Speaking at The Indian Express Idea
Exchange program recently, Mukherjee
spoke at length about various
considerations the GoM pored over, with a
candid admission that he “used to be a
volcanic smoker till 17 years ago”.
• In a lighter vein, he said all members of
the GoM who “prevailed up on the Health
Minister” on the issue of the pictorial
warnings were in fact non-smokers”.

91. “Thousands die
every day while
politicians sit on
their hands”

93. INDIA
Despite GOM’s lethargy,Supreme Court
cleared display of tobacco pictorial
warnings :Court records Government
Undertaking that law will be implemented
from May 31

94. NEW DELHI: Repeated dithering by Indian government in
introducing pictorial signs and health warnings on
cigarette packets invited a stinging query from the Indian
Supreme Court :
"Is the government doing this to control
rapidly increasing population?"
Appearing for NGO `Health for Millions', senior advocate
Indira Jaising told a Supreme Court Bench that
the government had succumbed to the
pressure exerted by the tobacco lobby
and repeatedly postponed implementation
of its decision on pictorial warnings.

95. The advocate asked how the government,
which has ministers who themselves own
tobacco plantations, could take a decision
that was contrary to their interests?

96. Even the pictorial sign, which was to be ‘
skull and bones’ -- internationally
understood to depict danger — had been
diluted to `scorpion' which means nothing
for the common man.

97. The Final Decision
• The pictorial warning shall be limited to 40 per
cent of the principal display area on the front
panel of the package only .
• The specified health warning will be printed,
pasted or affixed.
• For smoking forms of tobacco packages, the
specified warnings are depiction of lungs.
• While for chewing and smokeless forms, the
warning will be a scorpion.

98. So where does or shall
India stand in Global Tobacco
Pictorial Warnings ? . . ? . . .?
Sadly , as always , the Tobacco
Lobby and its Politicians have
Won yet again!

99. Tobacco Production In India this year
Has increased by a Whopping 50 %
instead of Reducing in accordance to
Signed International Treaties

100. INDIAN BUDGET 2009
• Presented on 7-7-2009 by
the new Finance Minister
Mr Pranab Mukherjee –
NO NEW /INCREASED
TAX on Tobacco Products
is proposed

101. “Thousands shall
continue to die
every day while
politicians sit on
their hands”

102. Thank You for watching
this presentation
madhukar katiyar