Pic and choose: Statutory warnings go up in smoke?
Priyanka Tiwari
14 April 2007
The Times of India
---------------------------
The Health Minister wants tobacco products to carry pictorial warnings to discourage consumers. Will pictures speak louder than words?
In an attempt to promote healthy living and dissuade people from smoking, the Health Minister Ambumani Ramadoss recently announced that it would be mandatory for tobacco companies to carry pictorial warnings including photographs of corpses, disfigurements caused due to cancer and smoking induced impotency on cigarette and pan masala packets.
While written statutory warnings have not been able to discourage people from smoking, we find out whether picture support would prove helpful for the anti-tobacco cause or if there's a need for a stronger campaign to cut down on tobacco consumption in the country.
According to Ramadoss, no matter what the size of the packet, tobacco companies will not be able to sell their products sans pictorial warnings. But would pictures serve as a viable method in India which is home to 200 million tobacco users?
"Any kind of effort to discourage people from smoking is worth applauding. What needs to be done is to make continuous efforts, lest the issue lose its seriousness," opines adman Prasoon Joshi, who had worked on a lot of anti-smoking campaigns, the latest being with Viveik Oberoi and Urmila Matondkar.
Reacting to the announcement of the Ministry, actor Suresh Oberoi, who was a chain smoker earlier, says, "When my own son stood up for this cause, I decided to kick the habit. As for the pictorial warnings, well, they would indeed catch the attention of the people, but I think those who've remained unperturbed by written statutory warnings will not be affected by pictures either."
"I believe a sound campaign against tobacco consumption is required to spread awareness about the ill-effects of the same," adds Oberoi.
Interestingly, Ramadoss' proposal is not novel and pictoral warnings on tobacco products are already in place in Canada, Brazil, Australia, and Singapore. The European Union too has been pushing for pictorial warnings on cigarette packets, with Belgium already bringing in legislation to this effect.
Naturally then, the medical fraternity is quite pleased with the government's proposal but at the same time, seems apprehensive too. As Dr Prakash Kumar Tripathi, consultant, respiratory medicine in Kanpur points out, "I appreciate the concern shown by the Health Ministry to discourage smoking, but I also think that people who've already been ignoring statutory warnings wouldn't take interest in looking at pictures.
Warnings alone don't help, what we need is to make people understand the adverse effects of smoking on their own health as well as that of people around them. It could be done through campaigns, advertisements on TV and radio, small documentary films andhoardings at public places."
However, Anita Peter, director of Cancer Patients Aids Association (CPAA) feels that pictures are going to have a better impact than words. She says, "In Canada, a survey conducted after implementing pictorial warnings on cigarette packs found that the number of smokers had gone down considerably.
This proves the impact of pictures on people." But she also believes that a lot more needs to be done, especially keeping in mind the youth. "Making youngsters understand the detrimental effects of smoking early on will help. It is difficult to quit smoking once you are addicted to it," she adds.
The Indian Tobacco Company has already been issuing warnings on cigarette packs. Is the idea of pictorial w-arnings supported by the company? To this PN Shangari, Branch Manager, ITC, Lucknow asserts, "Pictures aren't going to make much of a difference.
If they do help people to limit tobacco consumption, it would be good. After all, our warnings also aim at making people understand that excess of cigarette smoking is harmful."
Email: kanpur.times@timesgroup.com
Online at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City_Supplements/Kanpur_Times/Pic_and_choose_Statutory_warnings_go_up_in_smoke/articleshow/msid-1907330,curpg-1.cms
Priyanka Tiwari
14 April 2007
The Times of India
---------------------------
The Health Minister wants tobacco products to carry pictorial warnings to discourage consumers. Will pictures speak louder than words?
In an attempt to promote healthy living and dissuade people from smoking, the Health Minister Ambumani Ramadoss recently announced that it would be mandatory for tobacco companies to carry pictorial warnings including photographs of corpses, disfigurements caused due to cancer and smoking induced impotency on cigarette and pan masala packets.
While written statutory warnings have not been able to discourage people from smoking, we find out whether picture support would prove helpful for the anti-tobacco cause or if there's a need for a stronger campaign to cut down on tobacco consumption in the country.
According to Ramadoss, no matter what the size of the packet, tobacco companies will not be able to sell their products sans pictorial warnings. But would pictures serve as a viable method in India which is home to 200 million tobacco users?
"Any kind of effort to discourage people from smoking is worth applauding. What needs to be done is to make continuous efforts, lest the issue lose its seriousness," opines adman Prasoon Joshi, who had worked on a lot of anti-smoking campaigns, the latest being with Viveik Oberoi and Urmila Matondkar.
Reacting to the announcement of the Ministry, actor Suresh Oberoi, who was a chain smoker earlier, says, "When my own son stood up for this cause, I decided to kick the habit. As for the pictorial warnings, well, they would indeed catch the attention of the people, but I think those who've remained unperturbed by written statutory warnings will not be affected by pictures either."
"I believe a sound campaign against tobacco consumption is required to spread awareness about the ill-effects of the same," adds Oberoi.
Interestingly, Ramadoss' proposal is not novel and pictoral warnings on tobacco products are already in place in Canada, Brazil, Australia, and Singapore. The European Union too has been pushing for pictorial warnings on cigarette packets, with Belgium already bringing in legislation to this effect.
Naturally then, the medical fraternity is quite pleased with the government's proposal but at the same time, seems apprehensive too. As Dr Prakash Kumar Tripathi, consultant, respiratory medicine in Kanpur points out, "I appreciate the concern shown by the Health Ministry to discourage smoking, but I also think that people who've already been ignoring statutory warnings wouldn't take interest in looking at pictures.
Warnings alone don't help, what we need is to make people understand the adverse effects of smoking on their own health as well as that of people around them. It could be done through campaigns, advertisements on TV and radio, small documentary films andhoardings at public places."
However, Anita Peter, director of Cancer Patients Aids Association (CPAA) feels that pictures are going to have a better impact than words. She says, "In Canada, a survey conducted after implementing pictorial warnings on cigarette packs found that the number of smokers had gone down considerably.
This proves the impact of pictures on people." But she also believes that a lot more needs to be done, especially keeping in mind the youth. "Making youngsters understand the detrimental effects of smoking early on will help. It is difficult to quit smoking once you are addicted to it," she adds.
The Indian Tobacco Company has already been issuing warnings on cigarette packs. Is the idea of pictorial w-arnings supported by the company? To this PN Shangari, Branch Manager, ITC, Lucknow asserts, "Pictures aren't going to make much of a difference.
If they do help people to limit tobacco consumption, it would be good. After all, our warnings also aim at making people understand that excess of cigarette smoking is harmful."
Email: kanpur.times@timesgroup.com
Online at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City_Supplements/Kanpur_Times/Pic_and_choose_Statutory_warnings_go_up_in_smoke/articleshow/msid-1907330,curpg-1.cms
No comments:
Post a Comment