A joint operation of District Administration Office (DAO), Metropolitan Police Range, and the District Public Health Office (DPHO) confiscated 12 different brands of Surya Nepal cigarettes from the company's dealer at Hanumansthan, Kathmandu.Officials at the DPHO, Kathmandu said that they seized the cigarettes as they failed to comply with the government's rule on pictorial health warning on the packets.
As per the rule, 90 percent of all tobacco packaging space must have graphic warnings.
"We found that only 75 percent of the cigarette packets had pictorial, graphics and textual warnings, which is blatant violation of law," Achyut Lamichane, chief of the DPHO, Kathmandu, informed.
Out of the seized cigarettes, there were 18 boxes of Surya 24-carat, 293 boxes of Pilot, 10 boxes of Shikhar, 44 boxes of Chautari, 28 boxes of Chautari filter, 65 boxes of Bijuli, four boxes of Bijuli filter, 10 boxes of Khukuri, 96 boxes of Surya Lights, 14 boxes of Surya Red, 10 boxes of Shikhar Lights and four boxes of Surya Polarized brand.
Lamichhane informed that the regulatory authorities will file a case against the company at the court and take further action based on the verdict.
Meanwhile, Rabi KC, vice president of the company said that complying with the law requiring 90 percent pictorial message on the cigarettes packets was not possible in the present context.
He claimed that the company has already lodged a complaint at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC) against the regulation. "All the stakeholders, including the MoIC officials, agree that a revision is needed and have decided to call a meeting of stakeholders," claimed KC.
He further claimed that the government had not yet provided the CDs with pictorial message to be printed on a cigarette packet.
"It is unfortunate that one agency of the government collects taxes from us and another seizes our products," said KC.
The government has committed to implement 90 percent pictorial warning in tobacco products before the international communities. The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) was awarded the 2015 Bloomberg Philanthropies Award for Global Tobacco Control at the 16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health held in Abu Dhabi, UAE on 2015 for its commitment to control the use of tobacco.
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