Aug 30, 2012

Punjab govt approves proposal to ban gutkha, pan masala; implementation soon 

Chandigarh: The Punjab Government on Monday banned the sale, storage, manufacture and distribution of Gutkha and Pan masala or other items with tobacco and nicotine content in the state.

An official spokesperson said that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had cleared the file and approved the proposal by the state Health and Family Welfare Department to ban the Gutkha and Pan masala in the larger interest of public health.

Recently, several states including Kerala, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have banned tobacco in gutkha and pan masala, as required under the Food Safety and Standards Authority Act which prohibits adulteration of food items.

New evidence from a government-sponsored survey of tobacco use prevalent in north India has shown that health warnings have helped a large majority of smokers in quitting the habit.

Cigarette smokers in Chandigarh found health warnings to be helpful in helping them quit. In Chandigarh, India's first smoke free city, 58 per cent adults who thought of quitting did so after reading and seeking health warnings.

No comments:

Post a Comment