NEW DELHI: Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Thursday told a delegation from Andhra Pradesh, including Congress Members of Parliament, that he would discuss the issue of mandatory pictorial warning signs on cigarette packs and tobacco products, to ascertain whether any relief could be provided to the stakeholders. The notification comes into effect from February 1 next year.

The Ministry has been under tremendous pressure from the State Government and beedi manufacturers to withdraw the notification as it would affect the livelihood of thousands of people in the State. The issue was raised by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Telugu Desam Party leader N. Chandrababu Naidu who wrote to the Centre to reconsider its notification.

"All I can do is to conduct discussions once again with the beedi and tobacco manufacturers and experts on the issue and possibly extend the deadline for implementation of the notification.

It cannot be withdrawn because when the Act was passed in 2003 all political parties had agreed on it," he said. "I don't know why politicians are not concerned about the millions of smokers in the country and the matter is being raised just ahead of byelections in Karimnagar when the notification had been issued in July," Dr. Ramadoss said. Karimnagar has a large number of people involved in beedi manufacturing.

No choice

The delegation, comprising Girish Sangi, Madhu Yakshi and S. Satyanarayana, also met the Minister of State Panabaka Lakshmi who said the Act had been passed during the National Democratic Alliance regime in 2003 and the Ministry had no choice but to implement the Act. "We will still hold another round of talks with the stakeholders," she said.

Representatives of various political parties have already met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes.

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