Timeline of actions surrounding implementation of GHWLs, tobacco industry strategies and outcomes in India
| Date | Actions | Area/jurisdiction | Public health group activity | Tobacco industry activity (cigarette companies vs bidi companies) | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Indian government passes the Cigarettes Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution Act, mandating the use of text warning labels on cigarette packs advertisements | Ministries of Commerce, Health and Family Welfare | Unknown | Unknown | Text warning labels implemented in 1975 |
| 1980s-1990s | Pro-tobacco control NGOs founded | Throughout India | Multiple NGOs arise to advocate for tobacco control | Unknown | Environment becomes more favourable for tobacco control legislation |
| 1995 | Results of Indian Parliamentary Committee studying the 1975 Cigarette Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution Act conclude that the legislation was ineffective at reducing tobacco use in India | Parliament | Unknown | Unknown | Stage is set for further tobacco control legislation |
| 1995 | Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation recommends use of strongly worded rotating warning label text with pictures and symbols | Lok Sabha (lower house of the parliament) | Unknown | Tobacco industry lobbies for voluntary regulation, then against use of strongly worded rotating text and images | Strongly worded labels with pictures are not implemented |
| 2001 | Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development recommends use of skull and crossbones on tobacco packages | Rajya Sabha, (upper house of the parliament) | Unknown | Tobacco industry lobbies against implementation of skull and crossbones | Skull and cross bones image dropped in 2007 |
| 1999–2003 | COTPA process | National | Public health groups advocate for implementation of COTPA | Prior to COTPA, industry lobbies for voluntary code. After COTPA, industry lobbies to weaken provisions of COTPA | Full implementation of COTPA is postponed for several years |
| 2004 | India's FCTC ratification | National | Public health groups advocate for ratifying FCTC and for implementing its provisions | Industry lobbies against ratification of FCTC | FCTC is ratified but its provisions are not fully implemented |
| 2006 | Public interest litigation is filed asking for enforcement of Article 11 of FCTC, implementation of GHWLs | Himachal Pradesh | Public health groups advocate for enforcement of Article 11 of FCTC | Industry uses economic arguments to argue against implementation of GHWLs | Article 11 of FCTC is enforced in 2012 |
| 2006–2009 | Tobacco industry lawsuits against GHWL law and lobbying | Tobacco Institute of India | Unknown | To delay implementation of pictorial warning labels | Delay in GHWL implementation until May 2009 |
| 2009 | GHWL provision goes into effect on all tobacco products | National | Public health groups advocate for stronger warning labels | Industry lobbies to weaken the warning label requirements advised by FCTC | GHWLs that are implemented are criticised by public health groups as weak |
| Mar 2010 | Government introduces new GHWLs depicting oral cancer to be rotated every twelve months and initiated in June 2010 | National | Public health groups advocate for these stronger warning labels | Industry lobbies to decrease the size and content of the warning labels | Ministry of Health and Family Welfare continues with strong oral cancer GHWLs |
| Jun 2010 | New rotating GHWL implementation delayed by government to December 2010 | National | Public health groups advocate for immediate warning label implementation | Industry lobbies to delay implementation | Implementation delayed until December 2010 |
| Dec 2010 | Implementation of GHWLs delayed by government to May 2011 | National | Public health groups advocate for more frequent rotation of warning labels and immediate implementation | Industry lobbies for further delay | GHWL rotation changed from every year to every two years, and implementation delayed to May 2011 |
| May 2011 | Implementation of GHWLs delayed pictorial warning labels to December 2011 | National | Public health groups advocate for no choice given to industry as to what GHWL to include | Industry lobbies for choice of which GHWLs to include | Industry is given choice of which of four images they would like to include on their labels |
| Dec 2011 | New GHWLs on all tobacco products are introduced | National | Public health groups criticise the labels as ineffective | Industry lobbies for delay in implementation | GHWLs are introduced on all tobacco products |
| Sep 2012 | Government announces introduction of three new GHWLs on cigarettes, bidis, and smokeless products to be introduced 1 April 2013 | National | Unknown | Industry lobbies for delay in implementation | GHWL implementation occurs in April 2013, when three rotating warning labels for cigarettes, bidis and smokeless tobacco are all implemented |