The Union ministry of environment and forests on Monday notified the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2011, which bans the use of plastic materials in sachets for storing, packing or selling gutka, tobacco and pan masala. As a result, attractive plastic sachets of gutka and pan masala will no longer be available.

In a state that has the second highest percentage of tobacco-chewers in the country (after Bihar), the move comes as the one of the biggest public-health initiatives in…

The USDA is mandating bolder health warnings on cigarettes in an attempt to get people to quit.

The days of the small Surgeon General's warning on the side of cigarette packs are ending. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that it is mandating bolder health warnings on cigarette advertising and packages in an attempt to get people to quit and to remind would-be smokers of tobacco's dangers.

It is the biggest change in tobacco warnings in 25 years. Some of the 36 graphic images…

Britain's Imperial Tobacco looks better placed than rivals with more expensive brands if plain packaging rules for cigarettes spread from developed to emerging markets, as health warnings did.

New rules are being explored in Australia and Britain, but analysts say the real risk from plain packaging is if it spreads to emerging markets, where it would slow consumers moving to more pricey and profitable brands.

Smokers in big emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia and Indonesia aspire to top…