ISLAMABAD: The civil society on Wednesday went to court demanding implementation of the government’s decision to increase pictorial warnings to cover 85 per cent of cigarette packets.

The petition was filed by the Society for Alternative Media and Research (SAMAR) and The Network for Consumer Protection at the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The court issued notices to the National Health Services ministry, finance ministry and the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) asking them to submit their reply within ten days.

The decision to increase pictorial warnings from covering 40 per cent to 85 per cent of the cigarette packet was announced by the Federal Minister for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarrar in February this year.

The statutory regulatory order (SRO) became effective on March 30 with a grace period of 60 days for the tobacco industry to implement the decision. However, another grace period of two months was awarded which expired on July 31 but the decision could not be implemented.

National Coordinator for SAMAR Khurram Hashmi spoke to a news conference at the National Press Club on Wednesday and said it seemed that the tobacco industry was pressurising the government.

The petition asks for the immediate implementation of the SRO issued on January 29, 2015.

“Enhancing the size of pictorial health warning was a landmark decision in tobacco control. If the government retreats from its commitment to public health and withdraws the decision, it would be a major setback and millions of people of Pakistan will be left at the mercy of the cigarette industry,” Mr Hashmi said.

Through this petition, the civil society is extending their support to the health ministry, he said.

Mr Hashmi pointed out that the health cost associated with tobacco use is much larger than the revenue received in tax from the tobacco industry.

The Network Executive Coordinator Nadeem Iqbal said the Ministry of NHS appears to be surrendering before the finance ministry, commerce ministry and FBR and withdrawing a landmark decision in tobacco control.

“According to the law, pictorial warning is a prerogative of the Ministry of NHS and other ministries cannot force it to change the decision,” Mr Iqbal said.

Pictorial health warnings, he said, play an important role in reducing tobacco use because a large number of people in Pakistan cannot read or write.

Mr Iqbal said that in March, a committee was formed under the health minister which was tasked with reviewing the impact of pictorial warning. He said this committee never consulted health institutes or the civil society.

“Sri Lanka has also adopted new enhanced size of pictorial health warnings, covering 80 per cent of the packet, since June 2015,” he said.

He pointed out that after a budget, prices printed on cigarette packets are changed within days so it is illogical to offer a grace period for implementation of the new pictorial warnings.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2015

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