India, the world's second largest producer of tobacco, gave the green light Tuesday to a bill banning all tobacco advertising, including sports sponsorship, and smoking in public places.
The legislation was approved by the cabinet of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and will be put to parliament in its next session later this month.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan said the government move was based on sound economic and health reasons, and would protect non-smokers from the hazards of passive smoking and discourage adolescents from getting hooked.
"Of the estimated three million tobacco-related deaths in the world, nearly one third take place in India," Mahajan told reporters after the cabinet decision.
If the bill is passed, violators of the new legislation will face a three-year jail term and a fine of 100,000 rupees (2,170 dollars).
"There will be a total ban on sponsoring of sports and cultural events by cigarette and other tobacco product companies," Mahajan said.
The bill also bans smoking in public places and the sale of tobacco products to anyone under 18 years of age.
Health warnings on tobacco products, including cigarette packets, will have to be the same size as the largest panel on the package. They must also be in English and one regional Indian language.
Mahajan put the annual cost of treating tobacco-related diseases at 135.17 billion rupees (three billion dollars), which is "much more than what is earned by the production and sale of tobacco."
The bill makes it compulsory for companies to indicate nicotine and tar content on cigarette packets.
It also stipulates that "no person engaged in tobacco products-related activity will advertise and no person having control over the media shall advertise tobacco products."
Tobacco companies were reluctant to react immediately to the cabinet decision, saying they would have to study the proposals first.
"We have not been through the cabinet note," said Ashok Aggarwal, vice president of the Delhi-based DS group, the leading manufacturer of chewing tobacco in the country.
"But generally speaking, we can say that any decision by the government which is uniform and applies to the entire tobacco industry -- smoking or chewing -- is welcomed by us," Aggarwal added.
However another industry executive was less diplomatic.
"What the government has decided to ban is a legal economic activity. They are just making the professionals' work more difficult," said the executive, who declined to be identified.
"If the government considers the tobacco industry to be taboo, why don't they ban it entirely like drugs?" he said.
Tobacco is one of the biggest contributors to the federal exchequer, with chewing tobacco sector alone contributing approximately 10 billion rupees (217 million dollars) every year.
The southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the western state of Maharashtra and the eastern state of Orissa are the main producers of tobacco, accounting for most of the 550 million kilograms produced last year.
The industry provided employment to about 26 million people last year according to data obtained from the commerce ministry's Tobacco Board.
Indians consume 430,000 tonnes of tobacco a year.
The decision to extend the ban to sports sponsorship will have an enormous impact on Indian sport, especially cricket, which is hugely dependent on tobacco funding.
India's national cricket team is sponsored by the Indian Tobacco Company (ITC).
"I have not heard about the legislation, we will have to study it and take a decision," said the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India Jayawant Lele said.
The government's announcement had a negative effect on the share price of most Indian tobacco majors, with ITC closing down 16.65 rupees at 878.25 -- NEW DELHI (AFP)
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