With the government setting in motion the process of establishing tobacco testing laboratories, cigarette and bidi manufacturers may soon have to declare tar and nicotine content on their packets. “Five laboratories are being set up for testing tobacco products and are expected to be launched soon,” a senior health department official said. Section 7(5) of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 2003 (COTPA) mandates the labelling of nicotine and tar content on packets of cigarettes and other tobacco products. The legislation was enacted in 2003, the section was not notified in a... [Read more]