The Union government had stipulated April 1, 2016 as the date for enforcement and compliance on the pictorial health warning.
Following this, FDA officials cracked down on major clearing and forwarding agents, depots, distributors and stockists across the State. “Various teams of FDA went on to check whether the mandatory rule of pictorial health warning covering 85 percent of the principle display area on the pack was adhered to,” FDA Director Salim Veljee told the media.
Veljee said that defective cigarettes worth Rs 8.63 crore were confiscated by the teams. The raids were conducted at Mapusa, Panjim, Verna, Zuarinagar and Sancoale.
“At present the crackdown has mainly focused at the supplier’s end and such massive quantities will serve as a deterrent to other retailers and kiosks to immediately remove defective cigarette package products from their shelves,” he said.
Veljee said FDA officials will continue to crack down on such products at other locations across the State in the coming days.
FDA also directed vendors whose package does not represent the minimum 85 percent display cover area with the health warning to refrain from selling such stocks, remove them from the shelves and return them to the suppliers.
National Organization for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) has welcomed the exercise. “This step will definitely decrease initiation of fresh recruits aimed by tobacco industries. It’s time government continue with the pressure on the tobacco industry to diversify in other sectors,” NOTE general secretary Dr Shekhar Salkar said.
