No pan masala, gutkha in Delhi for a year

All forms of chewable tobacco products are now banned in the national capital

GN Bureau | April 15, 2016


#AAP   #Delhi   #Tobacco ban   #Tobacco   #Arvind Kejriwal  


The Delhi government has banned all forms of chewable tobacco, including gutkha, pan masala, khaini and zarda.

The sale, purchase and storage of all forms of chewable tobacco have been banned for a year. This also includes the unpackaged chewable tobacco.

The Delhi government had issued a notification in September 2012 for a ban on 'gutkha' in the city in pursuance of a series of directions from the supreme court. The notification was about only ‘gutkha’. Tobacco retailers had started selling the components of 'gutkha' (betel nut and raw tobacco) in separate pouches, thus defeating the purpose behind the ban. That is why the health department came up with a new proposal for banning all raw chewable tobacco products in Delhi.
 
Delhi is following the footsteps of many other states which have banned the consumption of all forms smokeless tobacco. Assam was the first state to ban smokeless tobacco, including pan masala containing tobacco and nicotine in 2013. Though several states had imposed similar bans under the food safety regulation, Assam was the first one to impose the ban through legislature. The act, thus formed, also banned the manufacturing, advertisement, trade, storage, distribution and sale of smokeless tobacco in the state.

Noticeably, smokeless tobacco accounts for 90 percent of oral cancers. The Maharashtra government strengthened its battle against tobacco consumption by banning the manufacture, storage, and sale of all forms of chewing tobacco in the state in July 2015, for three years.

The ban was also extended to all additives of chewing tobacco, including kharra and mawa.

 A study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Institute of Global Tobacco Control, WHO country officer for India and Centre for Communication and Change-India (CCC-I), in October 2015 shows that 92 percent of people surveyed in Maharashtra, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, supported the ban on tobacco products.
 

Comments

 

Other News

COP28 discusses climate resilient development in Himalayas

Impacts and implications of Climate Change Vulnerability in the Himalayan Region and ways of creating ‘Climate Resilient Development in Indian Himalayan Region by making mountain communities green and resilient were discussed the side event hosted at the India pavilion at the UN Climate Conference CO

Air Pollution: What needs to be done to tame the silent killer

Air pollution in Delhi has been in headlines, as every year in recent times. Mumbai too has suffered from air pollution, despite being a coastal city. Apart from many other metros such as Bangalore and Kolkata, tier-I and -II cities and rural areas also have high pollution levels. Every year reports and st

Free food grains for 81.35 cr beneficiaries for five years

The central government will provide free food grains to about 81.35 crore beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for a period of five years with effect from January 1, 2024, the cabinet decided on Wednesday. Terming it as a “historic decision”, a

“I wrote ‘Survival at Stake’ to provide food for thought about solutions”

Survival at Stake: How Our Treatment of Animals Is Key to Human Existence By Poorva Joshipura HarperCollins, 328 pages, Rs 499 With science now recognising animal consciousness, intelligence, emotion, and even morality, there must rise an awareness of

‘Bon Voyage’ through the Arctic: Exploring new horizons for India

India`s tryst with trade through the Arctic regions, including the Northern Sea Routes (NSR), has become an impact-making endeavor recently. The Arctic of yore is now a pivot – point of geopolitics, of climate change discussions, and for economic opportunities; 40% of oil and gas reserves said to be

Demystifying Contemporary Finance Theory and other lessons in investment

Investing Decoded: Simple Path To Building A Portfolio In Millions By Anirudh Rathore Penguin India, 320 pages, Rs 499

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter