India’s ITC says to keep cigarette factories shut over health warning rules
India's top cigarette maker ITC Ltd, part-owned by British American Tobacco, said it was not ready to print bigger health warnings on its packs as mandated by the government and will keep its factories shut until clarity emerges on the new rules. ITC's comments highlight the latest tussle between India's $10 billion cigarette industry and the government after new rules kicked in on Friday mandating health warnings should cover 85 percent of a pack's surface, up from 20 percent now. “The industry was led to believe that the government would renotify new health warnings after considering the committee's recommendations,” ITC said in its statement.