The government is all set to notify new pictorial warning for the tobacco products. A truncated torso with a diseased lung will replace the controversial blurred image that appeared to be resembling England footballer John Terry as pictorial warning on the cigarette packs.
According to a senior official in the health ministry, the image has been approved by the Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and is expected to be notified soon. The manufacturers, officials say, will be given six months time to make changes and come out with the new pictorial warning in their products.
The new photo is already in use in Thailand. “We have taken the photo from the common sharing code. The non-specific photo having same colour scheme and design as one used in Thailand will be used here too,” said a senior official in the ministry.
The ministry had earlier also asked the directorate of advertising and visual publicity (DAVP) to send more pictures with a view to give wider options to the manufacturers. However, the other pictures have been put on hold. “Right now this is the only one picture that will be notified for the tobacco products,” added the official.
The photos taken from Thailand will be a replacement to the controversial “John Terry look-alike” picture.
The ministry was caught into trouble after Terry’s manager had threatened to sue the government over the alleged resemblance of the photo with the footballer. The picture had an uncanny resemblance to Chelsea captain and defender John Terry.