Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Packing & Labelling Rules - Notification
With the
view to educate the people about the ill effects of smoking and tobacco products,
the Government of India has notified “The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products
(Packing and Labelling) Rules, 2006 on 5th July 2006.
As per these Rules every package of cigarette or any other tobacco
product shall contain the specified health warning as specified in the Schedule
to these Rules. The specified health warning comprises of Skull and Bones Sign,
a health warning (TOBACCO KILLS/SMOKING KILLS); a pictorial representation
of ill-effects of tobacco use and a health message.
These rules
would come into effect from 1st February, 2007, so as to allow
the Trade & Industry to make the necessary changes in their Trade Practices.
Section 20
of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (Prohibition of Advertising
and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution)
Act, 2003, also provides for stringent penalty for non-compliance. Thus, any person who produces or manufactures
cigarettes or tobacco products without the specified warning shall in the
case of first conviction be punishable with imprisonment for a term which
may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees,
or with both, and for the second or subsequent conviction, with imprisonment
for a term which may extend to five years and with fine which may extend to
ten thousand rupees.
Even the
person who sells or distributes cigarettes or tobacco products without the
specified warning shall be liable to punishment. This may be imprisonment for a term, which may extend to one year,
or with fine, which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both, and for
the second or subsequent conviction, with imprisonment for a term, which may
extend to two years and with fine, which may extend to three thousand rupees.
PVR/Hb
MINISTRY
OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
(Department
of Health)
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi
the 5th July 2006
G.S.R. 402(E)
– In exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-section (1) of Section 7, Sub-section
(2) of Section8. Section 10 and Section
31 of the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement
and Regulation of Trade and Commerce. Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (34 of 203), the
Central Government hereby makes the following rules, namely –
1. Short title and commencement – (1)
These rules may be called the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging
and Labelling) Rules, 2006.
2. They shall come into force on the 1st
day of February, 2007.
2. In these rules unless the context
otherwise requires –
(a) “Act” means the Cigarettes and other Tobacco
Products (Prohibition of Advertisement of Regulation of Trade and
Commerce. Production, Supply and
Distribution) Act, 2003.
(b) “Package” means box, pouch, conical,
cylindrical or any other type of pack used for packing cigarettes and other
tobacco products.
(c) “principal
display area” means –
(i) for box packages, two equal
sized largest surface area(s) of the box that may be displayed or visible under normal or customary conditions of
sale or use;
(ii) for pouch type packages, the
entire surface area of the pack that may be displayed or visible under normal
conditions of sale or use;
(iii) for conical or cylindrical
type of packages, the entire curving area of the pack that may be displayed or
visible under normal or customary conditions of sale or use;
(iv) for any other form or type of
package, the entire surface area of the pack that may be displayed or visible
under normal or customary conditions of sale or use;
(d) “Specified health warning” means, such
health warnings as specified by the Central Government from time to time,
in the schedule to these rules.
3. Manner of packing and labeling –
(1) Every person engaged directly or indirectly in the production, supply,
import or distribution of cigarette or any other tobacco products shall ensure
that, -
(a) every package of cigarette or any other tobacco
product shall have the specified health warning exactly as specified in the
schedule to these rules;
(b) the specified health warnings shall occupy
at least fifty per cent of the principal display area/s of the pack and shall
be positioned parallel to the top edge of the package and in the same direction
as the information on the principal display area/s:
Provides that for conical packs, the widest end of the pack shall be
considered as the top edge of the pack;
Provided further that for box and pouch type of packs, the specified
health warning shall appear on both sides of the pack, on the largest panels:
(c) none of the elements
of the specified warning are severed, covered or hidden in any manner when
the package is sealed or opened;
(d) no messages that directly or indirectly promote
a specific tobacco brand or tobacco usage in general are inscribed on the
tobacco product package;
(e) no product shall be sold unless the package
contains the specified health warning:
Provided that the specified health warning shall be printed on every
retail pack in which the tobacco product is normally intended for consumer
use or retail sale, as well as any other external packaging, such as cartons
or boxes;
(f) the specified warnings shall be inscribed
in the language/s used on the pack:
provided that not more than two languages shall be used on the pack,
so as to ensure that the specified warning is legible and prominent;
(g) no tobacco product package or label shall
contain any information that is false, misleading, or deceptive, or that is
likely or intended to create an erroneous impression about the characteristics,
health effects, or health or other hazards of the tobacco product or its emissions.
This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, the use of words
or descriptors, whether or no part of the brand name, such as “light”, “ultra
light”, “mild”, “ultra mild”, “low tar”, “slim”, “safer” or similar words
or descriptors, any graphics associated with, or likely or intended to be
associated with, such words or descriptors; any product package design characteristics,
associated with, or likely or intended to be associated with, such descriptors.
4. Prohibition on obscuring, masking, altering or
detracting from the Specified Health Warnings – No person shall sell or supply and product, device, or other thing that
is intended to be used, or that can be used, to cover, obscure, mask, alter, or
otherwise detract from the display of specified health warning on the tobacco
product package. This includes
prohibition to design the product package or parts of the package, or
accessories thereto, with any cover that may obscure the prescribed messages.
5
Rotation of Specified Health Warnings – The specified health warning on tobacco packs shall be rotated every 12
month or as may be decided by the Central Government from time to time.
SCHEDULE
(see rule3)
1. Components
of specified health warning – The components for the specified health warning
shall include:
(1) Skull
and Bones Sign. – Every specified health warning shall mandatorily include
pictorial depiction of skull and bones sign.
In white on a black background (100% black) with white outlines. This sign shall be prominently placed on the
top left hand corner of the warning.
(2) Health Warning - The warning “Smoking Kills” (on smoking forms
of tobacco products) and “Tobacco Kills” (on smokeless/chewing and other forms
of tobacco products) shall appear in white font colour on a red background
(consisting of 100% magenta+100% yellow)
(3) Pictorial Representation of ill effects of tobacco use – Pictoral depiction of the ill effects or tobacco use on health shall be
placed below the skull and bones sign, and should appear in colour exactly
as in the soft copy provided in the CD accompanying these rules.
(4) Health Message - Every specified health warning shall include
the health message in black font colour on a white background. The health message should be printed in easy
to read black font on a white background and the font type/font size shall
be exactly as per the soft copy provided along with these rules.
2. The
specified health warning are
(1) For smoking forms of tobacco packs
(a) Tobacco kills 2500
Indians every day
(b) Your smoking kills babies
(2) For
chewing/smoking forms of tobacco packages:
(a) Tobacco causes slow and painful death
(b) Tobacco causes mouth cancer
Note: These rules are
accompanied by the CD that contains a soft copy of these health warnings,
in Join Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format, for inclusion in printing
of tobacco product packages.
3. Minimum
size of the specified health warning – (1) The minimum size of the
specified health warning on each panel of the tobacco pack shall be 3.5 cm x
4cm to ensure that the warning is legible and prominent.
(2) The size of all components of the specified
health warning shall be increased proportionally according to increase of
the package size to ensure that the specified health warning occupies fifty
per cent of the principal display area/s of the pack.
4. Language
– Each health warning and health message has been specified in English and
regional languages. Appropriate
language combination should be selected from the combination provided in the CD
to ensure that the language/s selected for health warning and health message
are in conformity with the language/s used on the pack by the
manufacturer. Where more than one
language is used on the pack. The specified health warning and language/s. Provided that not more than two languages
shall be used on the pack.
5. Printing – It must be ensured that
the colour, intensity, clarity and size of the components of the specified
health warning are not tampered with while printing subject to sub-paragraph
(2) of paragraph 3 of this schedule.
[F.No.P-16011/07/2005-PH]
BHAVANI THYAGARAJAN,
Jt.Secy.
(Release ID :18933)