§ Mrs. BrookeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that Gutkha style products carry a health warning as required by the Tobacco Products Labelling (Safety) Amendment Regulations 1993. [19991]
§ Jacqui Smith[holding answer 4 December 2001]: Oral tobacco products such as Gutkha are all required to comply with United Kingdom regulations and carry health warnings.
However, we wish to ensure that people have full information and we are, therefore, seeking to develop greater awareness of the health risks associated with oral tobacco as part of our tobacco information strategy. Our Asian tobacco campaign launched in August, focused on high risk ethnic minority populations, to address the health risks of smoking and the use of oral tobacco in order to decrease demand for these products. It is envisaged that an important element of this campaign will be the close involvement of local community organisations and many of these groups are already involved in the planning process. We have funded a training pack for trading standards officers on oral tobacco.