The Health Ministry ban on smoking in movies and public places may not have succeeded in curbing tobacco habits, but a new measure from June 1 could prove more effective: to scare smokers, packets of all tobacco products, including those imported, will carry photographs of oral cancer patients and babies affected by passive smoking.

Unlike the statutory warning now carried in fine print, these pictures and accompanying messages in bold type will occupy at least 50 per cent of the display area.

The mandatory warnings, arrived at after a field study, will be:

• A skull and cross-bones symbol

• The warning “Smoking Kills”

• A picture depicting the ill-effects of smoking, such as one of a dead man, an infant suffering because of passive smoking, an oral cancer patient

• A health message, such as “Your smoking kills babies”, “Tobacco kills 2,500 Indians everyday”, “Tobacco causes slow and painful death” and “Tobacco causes mouth cancer”

The warnings will be in English and regional languages while the message and the picture to go with it will be rotated every 12 months by the Ministry.

The measure gains significance as India is the world’s third-largest producer and consumer of tobacco, which is among the leading causes of death in the country. A WHO study estimates that the proportion of tobacco-related deaths in India is set to rise from 1.4 per cent in 1990 to 13.3 per cent in 2020.

Countries like Canada and Singapore, which have already adopted pictorial messages against tobacco use, have reported that these are effective. The decision to put pictorial messages had been taken last year, but the first deadline of February 1 was missed because of resistance from beedi manufacturers.

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