Pictorial warning to be displayed on cigarette tobacco products from May 31

New Delhi, May 6 (ANI): The Centre would implement the rules on issuing statutory pictorial warning on cigarette and tobacco products from May 31.

Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium, who appeared for the Union Government gave the undertaking before a bench of Justices B N Agrawal and G S Singhvi on Wednesday.

Earlier, the apex court had sought a response from the Centre on the allegations of an NGO that the government under pressure from the "tobacco lobby" was dragging its feet on issuing statutory pictorial warning on cigarette and tobacco products.

The petitioner contended that thousands of people in the country are succumbing to cancer mostly due to the widespread use of cigarettes and tobacco products.

In its application, the NGO complained that though the government originally brought in the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules in 2006 to making it mandatory for all tobacco products to display statutory pictorial warnings, "it was not implemented so far under pressure from the tobacco lobby".

Under the 2006 rules, the government had initially planned to display "skull and bones" besides a dead body on the packages and labels to caution people on the adverse effects of smoking and using tobacco products. (ANI)