Click to play videoNew Delhi: The Health Ministry has decided to get stricter with tobacco companies.
The danger sign, which just warns that cigarettes are injurious to health, will have more to it.
The notification of the Health Ministry has made it mandatory for all tobacco products to display the skull and the bone sign including gutka.
It will come into effect form February 2007.
The notifications says the sign should be carried over half the packet along with a warning in bold.
And for those manufacturers not heeding the government directives, penal action will be stringent. They will have to undergo five years of imprisonment. Even those selling tobacco products will have to watch out. They can be put behind bars if they are caught selling products without the warning.
It seems Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has been inspired after the international recognition that he recently got for his anti-tobacco campaign. But the larger question remains whether a graphics warning can be a deterrence.
"The warning sign is right here and I don’t think anybody reads it. If you make crossbones, people might sit up and notice but I don’t think it will do good to those who already smoke right now. But it might get people other people to stop," a student, Stanzin Losah says.
Dinesh Chaurasia, a cigarette vendor agrees, "People can't quit smoking eventhough they knows it's harmful," he says.
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