Paan, beedi shop retailers up in arms against graphic health warnings  

The protests against the Centre’s decision to impose 85 per cent graphic health warnings on tobacco products are growing.

The ubiquitous street corner micro retailers — paan, beedi, cigarette sellers in Hyderabad _ have joined the all India protests. They are demanding investigation into the motives behind the new rule and seeking an immediate correction.

Tobacco body

Organised under the banner of the Pan Shops Owners Association of India, which represents the interests of more than 1.5 lakhs traders, retailers and paanwallas, selling tobacco products across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, they expressed concern over the livelihood threatening policy environment towards tobacco products.

Rangaraj Shankar Rao, President of the Association wondered “Why the Government wants us to be surrounded by horrifying pictures. These horrifying pictures will have huge negative impact on our psyche and can possibly disturb our peace of mind. We totally disagree and deny delivering such message”.

“If USA, which is considered the epitome of health and democratic rights in the world have found graphic health warnings unconstitutional, then what argument does India have to push large, shocking warnings of 85 per cent on tobacco packs? In a country with huge socio economic role of tobacco, large pictorial warnings is uncalled for especially when the rules have been framed in undemocratic manner”, he added.

Smuggled cigarettes

Satish Naik, President, Telangana State Pan Shops Owners Association, urged the Government to recall the rule, which he alleged was driven by the anti-tobacco lobby and NGOs. “ There are 45.7 million people dependent on the tobacco industry in India, including farmers, labour, workers and trade and no organization or individual representing their interest was consulted or heard when the rules were framed in 2014”.

The implementation will push up the smuggled market for cigarettes, which witnessed a 10 fold seizures by the authorities last year. Some retailers and hawkers are being forced to resort to selling various illicit, smuggled and illegal local and international brands of cigarettes to improve their margins and livelihood prospects.

The smuggled cigarettes do not have graphic health warnings, and therefore the consumers also prefer them, as many of them believe that Indian cigarettes are more harmful. “We fear, that larger Pictorial Health Warnings on tobacco products will make retailers across the country a target of consumer wrath and administrative action, as we are the front faces of the trade”.

The Association appealed to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to take a moderate and balanced stand on the issue, and give relief to the tobacco retailers by quashing the undemocratic rule and uphold the democratic principles of legislation making in the Lok Sabha.

In the case of products like Beedis and chewing tobacco packs, they are also not practical from implementation point of view, and it looks that facts of the trade were overlooked while formulating the rules.