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Health Ministry to go ahead with 60% picture warnings on fag packs
View(s):The Health Ministry is taking necessary steps to implement the 60% pictorial warnings on cigarette packets sold in Sri Lanka. Following the court ruling given on the matter on May 12 the ministry has written to the Legal Draftsman on drafting regulations needed to implement the decision, Dr. Palitha Abeykoon, the Chairman of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) told the Sunday Times.
“We will first look at the implementation of this law. There is a formal legal procedure to follow and once that is done the ministry will go ahead with it,” he said.
Dr. Abeykoon said while the ministry is taking action to issue the new gazette notification, the final date of implementation has still not been decided.
The Court of Appeal decision to make pictorial warnings compulsory came after a long battle during which the Ceylon Tobacco Company defied the Parliamentary decision where the Government and the opposition unanimously voted in favour of at least 80 percent of a cigarette pack carrying pictorial warnings against smoking.
However the decision by the Appeal Court stated that the company should include pictorial warnings covering at least 50 to 60 percent of a packet containing cigarettes.
The judgment stated that practical issues arise when 80 of the cigarette pack is covered with pictorial warnings as there is no adequate space to exhibit the trade mark and other words used in the mark.
“I am of the view that 20 percent of the space is not reasonably sufficient to present and exhibit a trademark. 20 percent of the space is not exclusively left for the trademark,” the judgment stated adding that the owner of the trademark cannot reach the customers with his mark which is hidden in the health warning.
The judges also highlighted the importance of a trademark in enabling the consumer to make an informed choice and safeguarding them from being misled regarding the brand of the product as the product packaging will look similar with 80 percent pictorial warnings.
However other stake holders who were instrumental in pushing forward pictorial warnings were disappointed with the outcome of the court.
Prof. Carlo Fonseka, former Chairman of NATA said this would be a temporary set back in the campaign and would still push forward what they set out to do.
Meanwhile the Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) said its next action will depend on the amended regulation published by the Health Ministry. A statement quoting CTC lawyers Sudath Perera Associates said the judgment does not provide clear or adequate directions on the remaining requirements under the said regulation.
“We are planning to seek a clarification by way of an appeal in the Supreme Court as there are matters regarding sub-branding, information that need to be displayed and constituents of tobacco products and a few other details that the current court ruling is completely silent on. We will need clarifications on this before we proceed”, a lawyer representing Sudath Perera Associates told the Sunday Times.