Grim pics on packs from Sunday

Grim images of diseased lungs will appear on cigarette, bidi and gutka packets from Sunday, May 31. Irrespective of size, packs of all tobacco products will have to carry the pictorial warnings with the mandatory message.

Grim images of diseased lungs will appear on cigarette, bidi and gutka packets from Sunday, May 31.

HT Image

Irrespective of size, packs of all tobacco products will have to carry the pictorial warnings with the mandatory message.

Every pack will have the pictures of damaged lungs with the messages Smoking Kills: smoking causes cancer; and a picture of a scorpion saying Tobacco kills: Tobacco causes cancer.

The new packs, however, are expected to take six to eight weeks to reach the market as the shelf life of the existing stock is up to two months.

“Everything that comes from a tobacco-manufacturing unit — making cigarettes, bidis and/or chewing tobacco — and is passed by the Excise department will need to carry the labels and conform to the new rules,” said Union Health Secretary Naresh Dayal.