India

COMMENTS: The Railways Act among other things regulates smoking on trains. It prohibits smoking if objected to by another passenger and confers authority on the railway administration to prohibit smoking in any train or a part of a train. It imposes a maximum penalty of 100 rupees for those who contravene the Act’s no smoking provisions. The Act available here is in English only.

COMMENTS: Issued pursuant to Section 5B(2) of the Cinematograph Act of 1952, the Guidelines require the Central Board of Film Certification to ensure that “scenes tending to encourage or glamorize consumption of tobacco or smoking” do not appear in movies. The Guidelines available here are in English only.

COMMENTS: The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 (Act No. 7 of 1995) (CTNA) requires that all advertisements comply with a prescribed advertisement code. The most recent version of this code is contained in the 2009 CTNA Rules and prohibits direct advertising of cigarettes or tobacco products. The code, however, permits the indirect advertising of such products under certain circumstances. (Note that a July 2010 Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Directive, appears to prohibit indirect advertising on cable networks until guidelines called for by the CTNA Rules are issued.) CTNA does not regulate international cable television networks. The version uploaded here is as amended only through August 31, 2007. The law available here is in English only.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 137 announces the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Rules, 2004. These rules have been substantially amended. Section 3 was replaced by the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008 (G.S.R. 417(E)). Sections 4 and 5 were amended by the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) (Amendment) Rules, 2005 (G.S.R. 345(E)). The uploaded files contain the notification in both Hindi and English.

COMMENTS: The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (Act No. 34 of 2003) (COTPA) is the principal law governing tobacco control in India. COTPA is comprehensive, covering topics including, but not limited to: definitions of key terms; restrictions on smoking in public places; advertising, promotion and sponsorship; sales to minors; packaging and labeling; and enforcement and penalties. The Act does not apply to tobacco products which are to be exported. The law available here is in English only.

The first provisions of COTPA entered into force on May 1, 2004. These provisions included Sections 1-5, 6(a), 12(1)(b), 12(2), 13(1)(b), 13(2), 14, 16, 19, 21-31. Sections 7(1)-(4), 8, 9, 10, and 20 took effect on December 1, 2007. Sections 12(1)(a), 13(1)(a), 15, 17, 18, 32, and 33 took effect on July 30, 2009. The Central Government issued rules pursuant to authority conferred under COTPA Section 6(b) regarding the sale of cigarettes around educational institutions, taking effect on September 18, 2009. The government has yet to notify two sections - Sections 7(5) (mandatory display of nicotine and tar contents) and 11 (regulation of tar and nicotine content).

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 561(E), the Prohibition on Sale of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products around Education Institutions Rules, 2004, defines “educational institutions” which may assist with the interpretation of this term in the public place definition of COTPA. The uploaded files contain the notification in both Hindi and English.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 345(E) announces the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) (Amendment) Rules, 2005. G.S.R. 345(E) amends the first rules enacted to implement COTPA (the 2004 Rules) by substituting new provisions on point of sale advertising and adding a definition of “indirect advertising.”

COMMENTS: The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is significant because it authorizes the Commissioner of Food Safety, appointed by each state government, to prohibit in the interest of public health, the manufacture, storage, distribution, or sale of any article of food. Several states have utilized this authority to ban certain forms of smokeless tobacco.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 417(E) supersedes the first rules enacted to implement COTPA (the 2004 Rules) and announces the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008. These new rules (1) impose duties upon certain parties such as owners, managers to ensure that smoke free policies are followed; (2) specify the requirements of "smoking areas" in hotels, restaurants, and airports; and (3) authorize officers to collect fines for the violation of specified smoke free rules. The uploaded files contain the notification in both Hindi and English.

COMMENTS: S.O. 2814(E) amends a rule announced in G.S.R. 693(E) regarding the languages in which the health warnings are written. The uploaded files contain the notification in both Hindi and English.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 693(E) announces the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling (Amendment) Rules, 2008. Issued after G.S.R. 182(E) (the Cigarette and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008), G.S.R. 693(E) contains substitute language regarding health warnings on retail packaging, requiring warnings to be printed on external packaging such as cartons.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 138(E) announces the Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Rules, 2009. These Rules amend the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 with regard to indirect advertisement and brand stretching, permitting such surrogate advertising under certain circumstances. (Note that a July 2010 Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Directive, however, appears to prohibit indirect advertising on cable networks until guidelines called for by the CTNA Rules are issued.) The Rules available here are in English only.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 182(E) announces the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008. Issued under COTPA, the Rules specify components of the health warnings (i.e., content, size, rotation, etc.), but various provisions in subsequent rules replace certain language in the 2008 regulations. Provisions prohibiting misleading descriptors and obscuring the health warnings on the package remain in G.S.R. 182(E) unaltered. The uploaded files contain the notification in both Hindi and English.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 305(E) announces the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2009. Issued after G.S.R. 182(E) (the Cigarette and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008, G.S.R. 305(E) contains substitute language for the definition of “package” and for the location of the health warning. G.S.R. 305(E) deletes the requirement that the warning be located on both sides of box and pouch type packs. The uploaded files are in both English and Hindi.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 1866(E) authorizes certain officers, in addition to those already designated in COTPA, to carry out the entry, search, and seizure provisions in COTPA Section 12 (with respect to any violation of the Act) and Section 13 (with respect to violations of tobacco product packaging and advertising). The uploaded files contain the notification in both Hindi and English.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 680(E) announces the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places (Amendment) Rules, 2009. The Rules add to those issued in G.S.R. 417(E) by listing additional persons authorized to collect fines for the violation of specified smoke free rules. The uploaded files contain the notification in both Hindi and English.

Note: This law has not been reviewed by our legal staff and was not relied upon for purposes of our analysis. We are providing it here for informational purposes only.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 985(E) announces the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2010. This notification contains substitute language on the issue of rotation, requiring that health warnings be rotated every 24 months instead of one year. The rule also re-establishes the May 2009 health warnings, ensuring that pictures of a lung x-ray and diseased lungs continue to be displayed on smoked tobacco product packages and a picture of a scorpion continues to be displayed on smokeless tobacco product packages. The uploaded files are in both English and Hindi.

COMMENTS: The Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011 prohibit, among other things, tobacco and nicotine from being used in any food products. Courts in several states have relied on this provision to impose bans on the manufacture, distribution, and sale of "gutka" or "pan masala."

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 619(E), entitled the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Rules, 2011, amends regulations related to the prohibition on the sale of tobacco products to and by minors. The uploaded files are in both English and Hindi.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 786(E), entitled Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) (Second Amendment) Rules, establishes rules for television and film including a prohibition on tobacco product placement and a requirement for health warnings when tobacco products or their use are displayed. For print and outdoor media, G.S.R. 786(E) requires cropping or masking brand names and logos of tobacco products. The uploaded files are in both English and Hindi.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 570(E), the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2011, amends a rule announced in G.S.R. 182(E) regarding the languages in which the health warnings are written and updates the components of the health warning. The uploaded files contain the notification in both Hindi and English.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 417(E) announces the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2011. The rules establish new graphic health warnings for packages of smoked and smokeless forms of tobacco. The rules also increase the number of warnings for smoked tobacco products from two to four, and increases the number of warnings for smokeless tobacco products from one to four. The new warnings became effective December 1, 2011, but were subsequently replaced by the health warnings contained in G.S.R. 724(E).

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 708(E) announces the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Rules, 2012. These rules amend provisions governing the display of tobacco products or their consumption in film and television. The uploaded files contain the notification in both Hindi and English.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 724(E) announces the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2012. The Rules establish new health warnings for tobacco product packaging, effective April 1, 2013. The uploaded files contain the notification in both Hindi and English.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 739(E) establishes April 1, 2016 as the implementation date of the October 2014 pack warning rules, contained in G.S.R. 727(E), that called for new health warnings covering 85% of the front and back of tobacco product packaging. The uploaded files contain the notification in both Hindi and English.

Note: This law has not been reviewed by our legal staff and was not relied upon for purposes of our analysis. We are providing it here for informational purposes only.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 727(E) announces the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2014. The Rules establish, among other items, new health warnings to cover 85% 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. The uploaded files contain the notification in both Hindi and English.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 292(E) announces the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2017. The rules establish that the second of the two health warnings contained in G.S.R. 727(E) is to be used on product packaging beginning April 1, 2017.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 500(E) announces the Prohibition on Smoking in Public Places (Amendment) Rules, 2017. The rules contain an amendment to the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008 prohibiting service in any smoking area and requiring signage with health warnings. The uploaded files are in both English and Hindi.

COMMENTS: COMMENTS: G.S.R. 331(E) announces the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Second Amendment Rules, 2017. The notification amends Rule 5, sub-rule 3 related to rotation. The uploaded files are in both English and Hindi.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 283(E) announces the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2018. The amended rules establish that the existing health warnings are to remain in rotation until August 31, 2018. The uploaded files are in both English and Hindi.

COMMENTS: The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare issued an advisory on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) including e-Cigarettes, Heat-Not-Burn devices, Vape, e-Sheesha, e-Nicotine Flavoured Hookah, and the like products to advise states and Union Territories that these products should not be sold (including online sale), manufactured, distributed, traded or advertised in their jurisdictions.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 331(E) announces the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Second Amendment Rules, 2018. The amended rules establish the next round of pictorial health warnings, which are required to appear on tobacco product packaging beginning on September 1, 2018. The new health warnings also include a quitline phone number. The uploaded files are in both English and Hindi.

COMMENTS: In light of an August 2018 MOHFW Advisory on ENDS, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular No. 46/2018 to alert customs officials about the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare Advisory on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS). In this circular, customs officials are instructed not to clear shipments of "ENDS including e-Cigarettes, Heat-Not-Burn devices, Vape, e-Sheesha, e-Nicotine Flavoured Hookah, and the like devices/products." Instead, these products and devices should be checked by the Assistant/Deputy Drugs Controller for compliance with the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

COMMENTS: The Drugs Controller General issued an order calling for enforcement of a ban on the sale (including online sale), manufacture, distribution, trade, import and advertisement of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) to include e-cigarettes, among other products. An e-cigarette company challenged this order in the Delhi High Court, and the court has stayed the order’s implementation.

COMMENTS: The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Ordinance, 2019 (No. 14 of 2019) bans the sale and advertising of e-cigarettes and e-cigarette components. E-cigarette companies challenged the ordinance in the Calcutta High Court.

The ordinance was subsequently replaced by the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture,Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Act, 2019 (No. 42 of 2019).

COMMENTS: The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Act, 2019 (No. 42 of 2019) replaces the 2019 E-Cigarette Ordinance. The Act bans the sale and advertising of e-cigarettes, e-cigarette components, and heated tobacco products.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 248(E) announces the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2020. The amended rules establish the next round of pictorial health warnings, which were originally required to appear on tobacco product packaging beginning on September 1, 2020. G.S.R. 458(E) delayed the effective date to December 1, 2020. The uploaded files are in both English and Hindi.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 458(E) announces the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Third Amendment Rules, 2020. The amended rules delay the effective date of the next round of pictorial health warnings to December 1, 2020. The uploaded files are in both English and Hindi.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 592(E) announces the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2022. The amended rules establish the next round of pictorial health warnings, which are required to appear on tobacco product packaging by December 1, 2022. The uploaded files are in both English and Hindi.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 400(E) announces the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Rules, 2023. These rules require health warnings and disclaimers to appear in any online curated content displaying tobacco products or their use.

COMMENTS: G.S.R. 792(E) announces the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2024.  The amended rules establish the next round of pictorial health warnings, which are required to appear on tobacco product packaging by June 1, 2025.  The uploaded files are both in English and Hindi.