The survey was conducted simultaneously in eight divisional cities in November last year, after eight months of introduction of the GHW in March 19, 2016, to examine the implementation of law by Tobacco Companies. It said the scenario is more disappointing for cheap cigarettes, bidi, zarda and gul, which are mostly consumed by the illiterate and lower-income group people.
The survey was conducted at 120 tobacco-selling shops in eight Divisional Cities based on seven indicators. Those are: printing of GHW covering at least 50 percent of the packet/ container, printing GHW on both sides of packets or containers, printing only government approved image and message as GHW, updating the GHW image in every three months, following government approved ratio in printing GHW image and warning text and others. PROGGA Coordinator presenting the findings said the progress in the rate of 100 percent compliance in GHW printing is very frustrating.
According to Section 10 (1) of the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amendment) Act 2013, it is mandatory to print colored pictures about the harms caused by the use of tobacco products covering at least 50 percent of the main display area in all forms of tobacco packets, containers or cartons.
Besides, as per the Tobacco Control Law Rules, 2015 tobacco packets without GHW are not allowed to be marketed or sold after March 19, 2016 and defying the rule is a punishable offence.
The survey made recommendations to primarily compel the Tobacco Companies to print GHW covering 50 percent of the space on tobacco packets, ensure printing of GHW with 100 percent compliance, penalize the law violating tobacco companies and increase the number of mobile courts and make the law enforcement agencies more active.
The government apparently has no problem if GHWs are not printed in packets of cigarettes sold to low income people – although in all probability the graphical warnings would perhaps act as a greater deterrent for them as they are mostly illiterate and not capable of reading the printed word. Perhaps the government can be forgiven for thinking that most people, whether illiterate or poor, know full well by now the dangers of smoking.
But it still remains the duty of the government to act in a paternalistic manner by informing all about the dangers of smoking. Cigarette smoking occurs due to the presence of asymmetric information – whereby consumers consume the product well beyond the socially optimum level -and in doing so give rise to various forms of diseases which take a toll on society by increasing private and public healthcare costs and reducing life expectancy.
By allowing the companies to flout the law openly the government sets the precedent of causing immense damage to the poor consumers of this most deadly product. Compliance with the laws of the land for ensuring public health is essential.
