An association representing the tobacco farmers and merchants in Gujarat today demanded rollback of the 85 per cent warning rule for tobacco products, claiming it will affect the livelihood of lakhs of farmers and small retailers in the state.
Gujarat Tobacco Merchants Association, which claims to also represent 4.5 lakh tobacco farmers in the state, appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene.
It demanded scrapping of the Union Health Ministry's notification which makes 85 per cent pictorial warning on both sides of tobacco product packages mandatory from April 1.
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"After the notification was issued, most of the manufacturers of tobacco products have stopped purchasing tobacco as a part of their protest. This is adversely affecting 4.5 lakh farmers and 1.5 lakh small retailers," said president of the association, Bhikhubhai Patel.
Tobacco is cultivated over 1,50,000 hectares in Gujarat, with annual production of 360 million kg, worth Rs 3,000 crore, he said.
"Because of industry closure, the entire produce is lying unsold. It is stocked in the open, as there are no storage facilities. As monsoon is expected to arrive soon, farmers fear that entire crop may get damaged if not sold soon," said Patel, himself a tobacco farmer.
"Apart from 4.5 lakh farmers, 1.5 lakh small retailers are also on the verge of losing livelihood," he said.
"Beedis and chewing tobacco are native to India, and global formula of warning should not be applied to them, as there is no scientific data to back claims of success of such policy in these products," stated Patel.
"To find out an amicable solution, our association has decided to send an email to the PM," he said.
