India ranks 5th in terms of the size of pictorial warning on tobacco products

India ranks fifth among countries across the globe with effective implementation of adequate size of pictorial warning on packages of tobacco products like cigarettes, chewing tobacco and more.

India is making progress in terms of anti-tobacco campaign by leaps and bounds. It has been recently ranked fifth in the listing of countries that have pictorial health warning on tobacco products, stated a recent media report. According to experts, the country has shown great advancement towards creating public awareness on the adverse health impacts that tobacco abuse has.

India's ranking was released in 'The Cigarette Package Health Warnings: International Status Report' by the Canadian Cancer Society that records global progress on plain packaging. 206 countries and territories were ranked on the basis of size of their health warnings on packets of cigarettes. It has also listed the countries that need to introduce graphic picture warnings.

East Timor has topped the list of countries with pictorial warning with 85% of the front and 100% of the back of the packaging followed by Nepal with 90% pictorial warning on the package on both sides. India's package warning covers 85% on both sides.

This is because of the Union Health Ministry s notification on the new set of 85% pictorial health warnings for mandatory display on both sides of the packet of cigarettes, bidis and chewing tobacco with effect from September 1, 2018. Government of India for the first time introduced Quit-Line number to be printed on all tobacco products, reportedly said Binoy Mathew of the Voluntary Health Association of India, an organisation working in the area of tobacco control.