Kathmandu, April 20

Twenty-five months have passed since the government amended the ‘Directives for Printing and Labeling of Pictorial Warning Message and Graphics in the Boxes, Packets, Wrappers, Cartons, Parcels and Packaging of Tobacco Products-2011’ to increase the coverage area of pictorial warning from 75 per cent to 90 per cent. However, the government has failed to effectively implement the law.

“As per the law, pictorial warning should be placed on the front, back, top, and both sides of every pack of tobacco products. There are five pictures and corresponding text warnings that need to appear on all packs of tobacco products and it should be changed every six months, but some tobacco companies are not abiding by the directives,” said Dr Tara Singh Bam, deputy regional director at International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases.

“Some tobacco companies have placed 75 per cent pictorial health warning, but they have not changed the pictures,” he said, urging the government to take action against such companies.

Dr Pushpa Chaudhary, secretary at the Ministry of Health said the responsibility of health ministry was to draft the bill, it did not have rights to take action against companies not abiding by the law.

In the same way, Narayan Prasad Bhandari, director at Inland Revenue Department said the department had already warned the companies of stringent action if they failed to abide by the law.

A tobacco company had filed the case in the Supreme Court against the government’s decision to implement the directives on 90 per cent pictorial health warning on the packs of tobacco products whose hearing was scheduled for April 18. “The date for the hearing has been postponed,” said Dr Bam.

“The Supreme Court has issued a stay order in the case, so we haven’t taken any action against the companies. The issue of revenue collection was also one of the reasons for not taking action against them,” said director Bhandari.