Hallmarks and definitions of illicit ST packs as per country-specific rules
| Pack features | Country-specific rule existence for ST and illicit hallmarks | ||||||||
| Bangladesh | India | Pakistan | |||||||
| Rule status | Illicit hallmark | Comment | Rule status | Illicit hallmark | Comment | Rule status | Illicit hallmark | Comment | |
| a. MRP disclosure | Yes | Yes | Operational definition of illicit ST packs in Bangladesh included 5 parameters defined under pack features (a), (c), (d), (e) and (f). An ST pack found non-compliant with even one of the parameters was considered illicit. | Yes | Yes | Operational definition of illicit ST packs in India included 4 parameters defined under pack features (a), (d), (e) and (f). An ST pack found non-compliant with even one of the parameters was considered illicit. | None | No | In the absence of country-specific rules in Pakistan, ST packs were not classified as illicit. We merely described the proportion of ST products under various categories. |
| b. Tax stamp and banderols display | None | No | No | No | None | No | |||
| c. Sale statement disclosure | Yes | Yes | None | No | None | No | |||
| d. Pictorial health warning (PHW) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | None | No | |||
| e. Textual health warning (THW) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | None | No | |||
| f. Misleading descriptors (MDs) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | None | No | |||
‘Sale statement disclosure’ indicates printing ‘sales only allowed in (country name)’; MD includes the use of a culturally specific reference such as colour or symbol (such as star, flower, birds, tree, sun, misleading photograph, tar, low tar, mild, etc), use of words indicating flavour, and/or strength (such as super quality, fresh, smooth, special, royal, rose, etc), and affixing health claim (such as mentioning product is less harmful, refreshing and safer, contains low level of harmful substance, etc). In many cases, ST packs in Bangladesh and India contain photographs of ‘bride’, ‘monk’, a ‘Hindu God’, etc; in Pakistan pictures of ‘horse’, ‘star’, ‘tiger head’, etc. For PHW, the law in Bangladesh and India requires covering at least 50% and 85% of the display area, respectively. National laws in both these countries also require THW to be written in the principal language. The word ‘None’ indicates the non-existence of rule for ST products in the country’s tobacco control policy for the relevant pack features for regulation.
MRP, market retail price; ST, smokeless tobacco.