India

Project and Country Background

India has a population of 1.3 billion people; 10.7 percent of the adult population smoke tobacco products and 21.4 percent use smokeless tobacco.1 An estimated 1,113,421 people die in India each year from diseases caused by tobacco use.2

In 2013 and 2016, TPackSS worked with in-country collaborators to purchase cigarettes and bidis in three major cities: Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai. Within each city, packs were collected from a sample of 12 economically and socially diverse neighborhoods. Data collectors purchased one of every unique cigarette and bidi pack available from vendors selected in each neighborhood. From October 16 to October 26, 2013, data collectors purchased 135 unique cigarette packs and 34 bidi packs. Then from November 14 to December 19, 2016, data collectors visited the same three cities plus Bengaluru and purchased 95 unique cigarette packs, 47 unique bidi packs, and 83 unique smokeless tobacco (SLT) packages.

To further explore SLT products, in 2017, TPackSS systematically collected SLT packages from five states in India: Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan, and Karnataka. These states were selected based on geographic diversity, political relevance, and prevalence of SLT users. Within each state, one town (population between 20,000 and 50,000) and four rural villages (population between 5,000 and 20,000) were selected for data collection. Data collectors purchased one of every unique SLT package available from vendors selected in each neighborhood. From October 26 to November 23, 2017, 240 unique SLT packages were collected.

The tobacco packaging and labeling requirements in effect at the time of data collection were used to assess each tobacco pack’s compliance with the requirements.  

Suggested Citation for Information on this Page: Tobacco Pack Surveillance System (TPackSS). India: Project and Country Background. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. http://globaltobaccocontrol.org/tpackss/country/india [Insert Last Updated Date].

Highlights of Packaging and Labeling Requirements by Data Collection Year

Data collection dates Type of warning Warning label size and layout Number of warnings to be displayed Rotation Rules for misleading descriptors Other warning label requirements considered during coding

Oct. 16 to Oct. 26, 2013

[169 unique packs collected]

Pictures and Text
40% of front

3

All labels displayed concurrently and are intended to be changed every 2 years

Yes

Warnings may not be placed where they may be concealed or damaged when opening the package or by tax stamps or other required markings. Pictorial warning on the front. “Warning” in red and “Smoking Kills” in white text on a black background.

Nov. 14 to Dec. 19, 2016

[95 unique cigarette packs collected]

Pictures and Text
85% of front, 85% of back

2

One label displayed and intended to be changed every year

Yes

Pictorial warning on the top edge of front and back of pack.  Warning at least 3.5 cm wide and 4 cm tall. Warning text: white on a black background; “WARNING” in white on a red background; language to match the language of the pack. Warning text box to cover 25% of front and back, and graphic to cover 60%.

Oct. 26 to Nov. 23, 2017

[240 unique smokeless tobacco packages collected]

Pictures and Text
85% of front, 85% of back

2

One label displayed and intended to be changed every year

Yes

Pictorial warning on the top edge of front and back of pack, or diametrically opposite on cylinder packaging.  Warning at least 3.5 cm wide and 4 cm tall. Warning text: single language on each side; white on a black background; “WARNING” in white on red background.  Warning text to cover 25% of front and back, and graphic to cover 60%.

Tobacco packaging and labeling in India is regulated under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA). COTPA was passed in 2003 and updated in 2008 with the Packaging and Labeling Rules, which established standards for health warning labels. Graphic health warnings were established in 2011 and a new round of graphic health warnings came into effect on April 1, 2013. G.S.R. 727(E) announce the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2014. The Rules establish, among other items, new health warnings to cover 85 percent of the front and back of tobacco product packaging. These Rules were to have gone into effect on April 1, 2015, but the MOHFW has issued a subsequent notification establishing April 1, 2016 as the implementation date of the new warnings.3

  1. Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) India: 2016-2017 (2017). Retrieved October 1, 2018

    from http://www.who.int/tobacco/surveillance/survey/gats/GATS_India_2016-17_FactSheet.pdf.

  2. Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017) Results by Location, Cause, and Risk Factor. Retrieved November 29, 2018

    from http://ihmeuw.org/4noh.

  3. Tobacco Control Laws Country Details for India: Packaging and Labeling. (2015). Retrieved April 21, 2016

    from http://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/legislation/country/india/pl-health-warnings.