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CTC challenges Govt. health warnings against smoking
View(s):The Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) is challenging tough new Government regulations on compulsory labelling of cigarette packets, showing pictures of cancer victims with a health warning against smoking.
Already, local television stations are carrying the warning messages, whenever there is a smoking clip in a telecast.
The CTC said in an announcement to the Colombo Stock Exchange, where it’s listed, that, on Friday, it filed action in the Court of Appeal, challenging the Tobacco Products (Labelling) and Packaging Regulations No. 1 of 2012. The Health Minister, Health Ministry Secretary and the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol have been cited as respondents in the petition.
The regulations, gazetted in August and became operative three months later, this week, says, “No packet, package, carton or label of any tobacco product shall contain any message which is “false, misleading or deceptive concerning the effects or hazards on health from the use of any tobacco product or from any emission arising out of the use of any tobacco product”.
The packets should not contain the words ‘‘low’’, ‘‘light’’, ‘‘ultra’’, ‘‘mild’’ or ‘‘extra’’ and imply that the tobacco product sold is less harmful than any other tobacco product.
Every packet must carry a pictorial health warning which has been given in the gazette notification and should cover an area of not less than 80% of the total area of a packet, package or a carton.
The size of the font size of the warning has also been specified. The pictorial warning notice must be changed every six months.
The ‘smoking makes children ill’ picture shows a sick infant in a hospital, the one on ‘smoking causes heart disease’ shows a male patient in a hospital ward connected to machines; and four pictures of ‘smoking causes cancer’ shows graphic pictures of people suffering from different forms of mouth cancer.
The four messages state that ‘Smoking makes children ill’, ‘Smoking causes Heart Diseases’, ‘Smoking causes Cancer’ and ‘Smoking causes Sexual Impotence’. They are accompanied by eight pictures to illustrate the seriousness of what smoking does to one’s health.
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