Indian cigarette makers halt production

NEW DELHI: Indian cigarette makers, including ITC Ltd, part-owned by British American Tobacco, suspended production on Friday over what they said was ambiguity in the government’s new health warning rules for packs, a leading industry body said. Rules that mandated 85 per cent of a cigarette pack’s surface to be covered in health warnings, up from 20 per cent, kicked in from Friday after being delayed for a year. But cigarette makers failed to comply, with packs with smaller warnings still being sold.