The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry’s plan to introduce pictorial warnings on tobacco packs seems to have gone up in smoke again. This is the fifth time that the issue has been put off but the recent beedi monograph, which focuses on the growing economic and health crises caused by smoking beedi, shows any further delay will be at the cost of the nation’s health. Experts say the ministry has no time to lose. Bhavna Mukhopadhyay of the Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI) said, “The scientific evidence presented in the beedi monograph reemphasises the compelling need to implement strong pictorial warnings on all tobacco products, including beedis. Since beedi smokers are often poor and illiterate, they need powerful pictorial warnings that communicate the deadly effects of tobacco use as vividly as possible.”In February last year, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss decided to introduce gory pictorial warnings—skulls and cross bones—on all tobacco products, including cigarette, beedi and gutka packets. But the idea was never implemented. The Shimla High Court took up the issue last year and directed the tobacco industry to introduce the warnings latest by March 17 this year. The ministry approached the court in January asking for more time. It is not hidden that the ministry could not introduce the warnings because of pressure from various quarters, including the tobacco industry. There were fears that it would affect beedi and cigarette sales, which, in turn, could affect the livelihoods of those involved in the production. It is estimated that around one million people work in the beedi industry. A Group of Ministers headed by Pranab Mukherjee was then formed to look into the matter. The GOM recently decided to tone down the gory pictures and instead, use “softer” ones.“The new pictorial warnings of scorpions and TB-infected lungs will hardly make an impact. The pictures decided earlier were so ghastly that people would have thought twice before smoking them. This idea has worked in many other countries, but here the ministry is busy obliging political leaders,” an expert in the health ministry on condition of anonymity.There is no dearth of studies that show the dangers of smoking, especially beedi smoking. An analysis in Bangalore found that people who smoked 10 or more beedis a day were over four times more likely to have heart attacks than non-smokers. A study in Tamil Nadu shows that roughly half (47 per cent) of the TB deaths in rural areas are caused by smoking beedis. But experts say all these studies don’t amount to much as long as the government doesn’t act. “What is the point of bringing out such reports when the government cannot do anything about the situation? The beedi monograph emphasised the urgent need to protect the vulnerable sections of society by informing them through appropriate pictorial health warnings,” said Dr. Mira Aghi of the Advocacy Forum for Tobacco Control (AFTC).
