Govt under fire over cigarette prohibition Bill

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

New Delhi, Aug 30: The UPA Government came under attack in the Lok Sabha today from all quarters, including the Congress, for seeking to make the mandatory pictorial warning of a skull and crossbones optional on packets of cigarette and other tobacco products on the grounds of religious sentiments. The members, cutting across party lines, wanted to know whose religious sentiments were hurt by seeing the depiction of a skull and crossbones on packets of tobacco products.

They were speaking on the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Bill, 2007.

Initiating the debate on the Bill moved by Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, Mrs Sumitra Mahajan (BJP) said smoking also affected non-smokers, especially women and children, and hence a pictorial warning was very necessary.

''The Government should not talk of religious sentiments when the health of a large number of people were at stake,'' she said. ''If not a skull and crossbones, then another emblem signifying danger should be printed.'' The Government, she said, should decide on the proportion of the pictorial as well as printed statutory warning.

Ch Lal Singh (Cong) said macho advertisements for cigarettes and other tobacco products corrupted the minds of the youth. It was, therefore, necessary to have a pictorial warning on the packets.

''What religion is affected by the depiction of a skull and crossbones?'' he asked.

Mr Basudeb Acharia (CPI-M) said the Bill did not clarify what sort of pictorial warning would replace a skull and crossbones.

Participating in the discussion on the prohibition of advertisement and regulation on tobacco products bill, Mr Shyam Charan Gupta (SP) urged the Government not to bring the pictorial warning in such a big size as it would be difficult for the companies even to print the name of their products and it would become difficult for them to sell their products.

He said in fact the Government should restrict the space for the warning to around 20 per cent of the available space.

The Government should implement the act in a phased manner or otherwise it would lead to large-scale unemployment in the country.

However, they could bring it in one go if they have an alternative plan to provide employment to all those who would be affected because of this amendment in the act.

Mr Ram Kripal Yadav (RJD), while supporting the bill, said nearly 10 lakh people die every year in the country due to tobacco consumption. This would definitely discourage the consumption of tobacco products and would definitely reduce their ill-affects among the masses in the country.

He said the Government should ensure that the warning should be written in regional languages which would enable the people in the rural areas to read and the law would become more effective on its own.


Mr Basudeb Acharia( CPI-M), Ms Archana Nayak(BJD), Ms Tejswani(CPI-M) and S Sudhakar Reddy(CPI) participated in the resumed discussion on the amendment bill. The members, stating that at least 25 crore people of the country get directly or indirectly affected by the menace of tobacco, called for several measures, including increasing the number of de-addiction centres, introducing curricula in school books and compulsory showing in theatres of the ill-effects of consumption of tobacco, among other things.

They also called for dealing with the menace in a phased manner and a provision of alternative employment to all those employed in the Rs 30,000 crore tobacco industry.


UNI

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