Tobacco retailers join manufacturers, down shutters

Tobacco retailers on Tuesday joined the protest by cigarette and beedi manufacturers against the health ministry's notification on pictorial warnings on tobacco products, increasing the pressure on the government over its directive to increase the size of pictorial warnings on cigarette and beedi packets.

ITC, Godfrey Phillips and VZT stopped production on 1 April, when the notification came into effect (See: Cigarette firms halt production over new health warning rules).

Beedi makers followed suit a week later. On Monday, the Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA) joined the protest (Beedi makers join tobacco firms, halt production ).

 Tobacco product retailers selling paan, beedi, cigarettes, tobacco products and confectionery items on Tuesday held a press conference in New Delhi to urge the government to withdraw the notification and resolve the matter amicably.

''The regulation is hurting the 50 million people dependent on the tobacco industry for their livelihood,'' said B C Bhartia, national president of the Confederation of All India Traders.

''We urge the government to take a balanced stand on the issue. We also call upon tobacco manufacturers to resume production,'' a CAIT representative said.

The ministry of health and family welfare amended packaging and labelling rules through a notification on 15 October 2014 that ordered increasing the size of graphic health warnings on tobacco products to 85 per cent of both sides of a pack from 40 per cent on one side of a pack.

According to CAIT, the tobacco industry has an annual turnover of Rs1,25,000 crore. Tobacco is grown in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Assam.

(See: Pictorials tussle costing tobacco industry Rs350 cr a day)