The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has announced that the new warnings on the tobacco products will come into effect from December 1, 2020. The message that will be printed on the packs is – ‘tobacco causes painful death.’

According to the release by the Health Ministry, any person engaged directly or indirectly in the manufacture, production and supply of cigarettes or any tobacco products will make it a point that all such packages have the specified health warnings exactly as required.

The new guidelines also have the provision of treating the violations of the specified rules. It has been made a punishable offence with imprisonment or fine as prescribed in the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Third Amendment Rules, 2020. The new rules will replace the existing one implemented in 2008.

The new set of guidelines will be valid for a period of 12 months following its commencement from 01^st December 2020 and they will come into effect following the end of 12 months from the date of commencement of specified health warning.