Graphic warnings await court ruling

Ceylon Tobacco Co. (CTC) has said it will not include graphic health warnings on its cigarette packs until the Supreme Court has ruled on its appeal against the warnings, according to a story on Colombo Page.

The Supreme Court has rescheduled its hearings on the appeal filed by CTC for July 11.

CTC, in a stock market disclosure, said that it would continue to produce and supply cigarettes to the market in their current packaging until a further decision was made by the Supreme Court on July 11.

The company filed an appeal with the Supreme Court last month against a lower court ruling that required it to display graphic warnings on its cigarette packets.

The lower court had dismissed a writ application filed by CTC against the government’s legislation requiring the inclusion of graphic warnings covering 80 percent of the main surfaces of cigarette packs, but the court directed the Ministry of Health to amend the regulation by reducing the warnings to between 50 percent and 60 percent.

The amended regulations, which include pictorial health warnings covering 60 percent of the front and back panels of cigarette packs, were due to be implemented July 1.

“As a responsible corporate citizen, CTC always supports balanced regulations and conducts all its business activities in compliance with all existing laws and regulations in the country,” CTC said in a disclosure.