TOBACCO MAJORS ITC and Godfrey Phillips India (GPI) are miffed at the recent order by the Central Government to print gory pictorial warnings showing an oral-stricken mouth on cigarette and beedi packets. In the order passed by the government the cigarette and beedi manufacturers have to print images of lung cancer and oral cancer and other serious diseases caused by smoking as a warning.
The tobacco manufactures had started printing picture of an infected lung and a scorpion sign but now government has asked them to replace it with a gory picture of a cancer stricken mouth. This order reportedly has not gone well with the tobacco majors and they have launched an indefinite protest against the order.
The change in pictures had to come in effect from December 1 2010 which compelled both ITC and GPI to suspended their productions from that date. The government is losing up to Rs 100 crore on excise daily due to the protest.
Manufacturing industries are not satisfied with this warning, as most units have nearly one month's stock of cigarettes available and no one wants to disrupt immediate supply or a price rise.
Manufacturers say conflicting statements have come from the Health Ministry and the Group of Ministers (GoM) on tobacco warnings. With the earlier pictures and the demand for the new gory pictures.
”Government is using double standard, they do not want loss in revenue from manufacturing units of beedi, cigarette and on the other hand they are bent on issuing pictorial warning. Why does our Government not close down these units?” said one non-smoker.
“Now some factories are closed due to protest of this pictorial warning, our poor people’s livelihood is badly affected. Government must do something for us,” said a beedi worker who is working in one of the ITC units since 20 years.
Government is yet to respond on matter. The State governments sought Centre's intervention in resolving the indefinite suspension of production by beedi merchants, saying it was affecting livelihood of 50 lakh beedi workers in the states.
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