India’s Supreme Court yesterday declined to stay the central Government’s new tobacco-packaging rules that require an increase in the size of pictorial health warnings from 40 percent to 85 percent from September 1, according to a story by Bhadra Sinha for the Hindustan Times.
The Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Second Amendment Rules, 2018, require the rotation of graphics and the replacement of current images. The image of a person’s throat with a hole in it, for instance, is to be replaced with more “gruesome pictures of a person’s lips with diseased and purulent growth”.
And in line with this change, the written warning, ‘Smoking causes throat cancer’ is to be replaced with ‘Smoking causes painful death’ and Tobacco causes cancer’, in white upper-case letters against a red background.
The rules require also that packs carry a quit number through which tobacco-product users can connect with online assistance.
Tag: India
New purulent warnings
Andhra prices tumble
Tobacco growers in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh had sold 63.51 million kg of leaf during the 98 days of marketing since auctions began in early March, according to a story in the latest issue of the BBM Bommidala Group newsletter.
The average price was said to have been down to Rs137.38, but there was no mention of what the comparison average price was.
However, a previous report, after 60 days of marketing and with 24.77 million kg of tobacco sold, put the average price at Rs163.00 per kg; so the average price fell by nearly 16 percent during the period from the 60-day to the 98-day stage of the marketing season.
In addition, a newsletter story from last year had it that after about 40 days of marketing, 21.57 million kg of tobacco had been sold for an average price of Rs145.53 a kg; so it would seem that prices this year are running about 5-6 percent below those of the previous year.
It is often said that prices are dependent on the quality of the leaf on offer, but this seems unlikely to the case here. The report said that a major share of the 63.51 million kg that had been auctioned, 34.36 million kg, comprised bright grades that fetched an average of Rs154.00 a kg.
Meanwhile, 18.39 million kg of medium-grade leaf had traded for an average price of Rs133.18 a kg, and 10.8 million kg of low-grade leaf had sold for an average price of Rs91.19 a kg.
In fact, as is usually the case, prices seem to be being driven by volume demand, or lack of it. By the 98-day point of last year’s sales, double the 63.51 million kg of this year’s sales had been auctioned.
Earlier this year, growers, worried at the slow pace of sales, called on the Chief Minister to hold a meeting with traders.
Growers’ concerns will have been heightened by the fact that the Andhra crop on offer is not a big one. The authorised crop size was 136 million kg, but the production estimate puts it at about 125 million kg.A matter of choice
In many parts of the world, it would be uncontroversial to say that women have the right to smoke, though this right often comes burdened with the unspoken idea that really they shouldn’t. No doubt this partly explains why smoking rates among men are higher than they are among women even in liberal societies.
In India, according to a piece by Rhea Almeida in Feminism in India, the pressures that women alone are subjected to are disguised under the claim that smoking – and much else that is enjoyable – is against India’s moral fiber and traditional customs of ‘dutifulness’.
Almeida is aware that she is standing on shaky ground in respect of smoking and she makes clear that she is not advocating that women should smoke, only that they should have the right to choose whether to smoke.
‘Smoking kills, this we know,’ she writes. ‘But for several women in urban India, not smoking isn’t always an informed, health-conscious choice. Often it’s not a choice at all, it’s a social construct. And for many who do choose to smoke, it’s a struggle or a secret you’re forced to keep.’
Almeida, who works for women’s economic development in India, closes here lengthy piece by saying that the trend of curbing a woman’s freedom exists across India in many colours and shapes.
‘While the act of smoking itself is not a liberator or emancipator for women, despite what big tobacco would have us believe, the freedom of choice to smoke or not to smoke, is,’ she said.IQOS rumored for India
Philip Morris International is planning to launch IQOS in India, according to a story by Aditya Kalra for Reuters citing ‘four sources familiar with the matter’.
A government source was quoted as saying the government would keep an open mind if PMI approached it to discuss a device that helped people quit smoking, but added that such devices, including electronic cigarettes, could be banned if found to be harmful.
A PM spokesman was quoted as saying that the company did not comment on its plans, but that it was committed to working to replace cigarettes with scientifically-substantiated smoke-free products.
But Reuters said that the company seemed to have started building a public case for IQOS in India.
On World No Tobacco Day, R. Venkatesh, PM’s top corporate affairs executive in India, wrote a column for India’s Economic Times newspaper calling for ‘effective regulations’ for alternative smoking devices.
‘With alternatives to cigarettes available and countries already delivering on their smoke-free ambitions, the incentive is there for lawmakers to support Indian smokers – who deserve a better option,’ Venkatesh wrote.High prices at slow sales
Flue-cured tobacco auctions that began in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in early March have yet to gather pace, according to a story in the latest issue of the BBM Bommidala Group newsletter.
After 60 days of marketing 24.77 million kg of tobacco had been sold at an average price of Rs163 per kg.
The story indicated that by the same stage of last year’s auctions, double that quantity of tobacco had been sold, though there was no mention of what the average price had been.
However, a newsletter story from last year had it that after about 40 days of marketing, 21.57 million kg of tobacco had been sold for an average price of Rs145.53 a kg; so it would seem that prices this year are running about 12 percent above those of the previous year.
The increase in price has occurred possibly because this year 16 million kg of the tobacco sold so far is said to be bright leaf grades.
Despite the higher prices, growers are apparently worried at the slow pace of sales and are calling on the Chief Minister to hold a meeting with traders.
Growers’ concerns will have been heightened by the fact that the crop on offer is not a big one. The authorised crop size was 136 million kg, but the production estimate puts it at about 125 million kg.Putting an end to ENDS
India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has proposed banning electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), including electronic cigarettes, according to a story in the most recent issue of the BBM Bommidala Group newsletter.
The Ministry says that such a ban would be a matter of public interest.
It recently informed the Delhi High Court that e-cigarettes contained nicotine and that they could be a gateway product that led young people to try combustible cigarettes. Therefore, the government was looking to ban the devices altogether.
The High Court took up the issue after Seema Sehgal, described as a homemaker, filed a petition asking the government to formulate guidelines for the sale, production and supply of the devices.
Six Indian states have prohibited the manufacture and marketing of vaping products.Prices increased in India
The average price paid to growers for flue-cured tobacco after 25 days of sales on auction floors in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh was increased by about 1.5 percent on that at the comparable stage of the 2017 sales season, according to a story in the latest edition of the BBM Bommidala Group newsletter.
After the sale of 2.97 million kg of flue-cured tobacco this year, the average price stood at Rs157.31 per kg, up from Rs154.93 per kg last year following the sale of a similar quantity.
Sales which began on March 8, have been held at centers within the Southern Light Soil and Southern Black Soil areas.
They are due to open at the state’s East- and West-Godavari platforms tomorrow.
The Tobacco Board of India increased the authorized Andhra Pradesh crop size to 136 million kg for the 2017-18 season, but production is estimated at 125 million kg.
Meanwhile, flue-cured tobacco auctions are winding down in the state of Karnataka, where 104.79 million kg had been sold after 162 days of sales that started on September 8.
The Board authorized a crop of 99 million kg, but it is expected that it will end up at just over 106 million kg.
The newsletter said that the average price in Karnataka, at Rs139.67 per kg, was up on that of the previous season, but it did not mention by how much.Indian students rebel
A decision by the authorities at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (ILT-D), to take action against students found smoking and drinking on the campus has set off angry reactions, according to a story by Fareeha Iftikhar for DNA India.
The engineering students at the premier institute have been asked to sign an undertaking declaring that they won’t smoke cigarettes or consume alcohol on the premises.
Citing the country’s anti-drug laws, IIT-D has said that any violation could lead to ‘expulsion’.
According to the IIT-D administration, it issued the diktat after discussing a code of conduct with students’ representatives.
But the students, particularly those doing post-graduate work, are in no mood to buy this argument. Some do not believe that the diktat was ever part of the code of conduct.
The institute cannot have the same set of metrics for everyone at IIT-D, said a student pursuing a PhD in management. “We are not against the move as it is for the betterment of those who are in their early 20s,” the student was quoted as saying. “But why students above 25 are being directed to sign such undertakings of moral policing?”
The upset students at IIT-D say they plan to air their displeasure through social media.
The story is at: http://www.dnaindia.com/delhi/report-dna-exclusive-iit-delhi-students-fume-over-smoking-and-drinking-diktat-2602547.India invests in a meeting
India’s Commerce and Industry Ministry is due on April 11 to convene a meeting of all stakeholders, including farmer associations, private companies and government departments, to discuss foreign direct investment (FDI) in the tobacco sector, according to a Press Trust of India story published by Bloomberg.
Currently, FDI is prohibited in respect of the manufacturing of cigars, cigarettes and tobacco substitutes. However, it is permitted within the tobacco sector in respect of technology collaboration in any form, including licensing for franchises, trademarks, brand names and management contracts.
The meeting assumes significance because, in 2016, the Ministry’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion floated a proposal to put a complete ban on FDI in the tobacco sector.
The government did not make a decision on the matter due to concerns raised by companies and tobacco farmers’ associations.
The meeting is expected to be attended by officials from government departments as well as local and overseas tobacco farmers’ associations, tobacco companies and business groups.
The Bloomberg story is at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/2018/04/08/dipp-calls-meeting-of-stakeholders-on-fdi-in-tobacco-sector.Upbeat in Andhra Pradesh
Flue-cured tobacco growers in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh were said to have been paid ‘fairly good’ prices during the first two days of this season’s auction sales, which opened on March 8 in the traditional growing areas of the Southern Light Soil region.
According to a story in the latest issue of the BBM Bommidala Group newsletter, growers were paid an average of Rs160 per kg during the early sales.
But prices are expected to increase once sales come to an end in the other flue-cured-tobacco state, Karnataka, towards the end of this month or early next month.
The auctions began on an optimistic note for growers in part because international companies are being allowed this season to participate directly in the sales, after registering as exporters or dealers.
Growers are looking for ‘remunerative’ prices of Rs176 per kg for bright grades and a minimum of Rs100 per kg for low-grade leaf.
The optimism has been caused also by the quality of the crop, which is said to comprise a majority of bright grades.
The Tobacco Board of India set the authorized crop size for Andhra’s 2017-18 season at 136 million kg.
Sales in the Southern Black Soil region of Andhra are due to start on March 19.
Meanwhile, in Karnataka, the average price stood at Rs150 per kg with more than 88 million kg sold against an authorized crop of 99 million kg.
Following 141 days of auctions, growers had sold 18.42 million kg of bright-grade leaf for an average of Rs161.97 per kg, 41.26 million kg of medium-grade tobacco for an average of Rs148.29 per kg, and 28.58 million kg of low-grade leaf for an average of Rs115.02 per kg.
