Tobacco.org

• Cigarette, gutkha packs to carry skull and crossbones 

Starting June 1, all cigarette, bidi and gutkha packets will carry prominent pictorial health warnings. The move isn't coming a day too soon - official statistics show every second man and every seventh woman in India is a tobacco-user.

"In our country, 46.5 per cent men and 13.8 per cent women use tobacco, which causes 40 per cent of all cancers," Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told HT.

"To encourage people to quit tobacco, all cigarette, bidi and gutkha packs will carry pictorial health warnings from June 1. We need graphic warnings,because many tobacco users are illiterate and cannot read the health warning," Ramadoss said.

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