KOLKATA: In a bid to cut down on the consumption of food products containing tobacco or nicotine in the state, the office
of the commissioner of food safety under the state health and family
welfare department has issued a notification, prohibiting manufacture,
storage, sale or distribution of gutka, pan masala and other products
containing tobacco or nicotine as ingredients for a period of one year
with effect from May 1.
Ironically, just a day after the notification, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced a 10% tax hike on cigarettes and asked people to smoke more so that more revenue is generated and the state is able to compensate the small and medium investors.
Minister of state for health, Chandrima Bhattacharya, however, later said that the prohibition was made only on gutka and pan masala and not on cigarettes.
The notification that was issued on Tuesday says that in "pursuance of regulation 2, 3, and 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (prohibition and restriction on sales) Regulations, 2011, the manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of gutka and pan masala containing tobacco and nicotine as ingredients, by whatsoever name it is available in the market, is hereby prohibited for a period of one year with effect from the 1st day of May in the state of West Bengal in the interest of public health".
It was in September last year that a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed before the Calcutta high court by an NGO of doctors, seeking a ban on gutka and pan masala. The state government had been mulling the plea for the past seven months.
However, it is yet to be seen how effectively the ban is implemented. Earlier, the state had prohibited smoking in public places and an order was issued stating that anybody who is caught redhanded will be fined. However, the law enforcement has been very weak as so far not a single person in the city has been fined. Moreover, people can be regularly spotted smoking in areas that qualify as public places.
In an attempt to curb down the use of food products that contains tobacco or nicotine as its ingredient, the office of the commissioner of food safety under the state health and family welfare department has issued a notification, prohibiting manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of gutkha and panmasala containing tobacco or nicotine as ingredients for a period of one year with effect from May 1 in the state.
Ironically just a day after the notification, chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced a 10% tax hike on cigarettes and asked people to smoke more to generate revenue to compensate the small and medium investors. Minister of state for health Chandrima Bhattacharya however later said that the prohibition was made on gutkha and pan masala only and not on cigarettes.
The state government was pondering to come out with the decision to probihit sale of food which has tobacco or nicotine as their ingredient for quite some time. A few other states have already prohibited tobacco produst like gutkha or pan masala from being sold and used.
The notification that was issued on Tuesday says that in pursuance of regulation 2, 3, and 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (prohibition and restriction on sales) Regulations, 2011, the manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of gutkha and panmasala containing tobacco and nicotine as ingredients, by whatsoever name it is available in the market, is hereby prohibited for a period of one year with effect from the 1st day of May in the state of West Bengal in the interest of public health.
It was September last year that a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed before the Calcutta High Court by an NGO of doctors, seeking a ban on and pan masala.
It is however very much in doubt how much effective the government's effort to curb down use of tobacco products like gutkha or pan masala as the government had earlier come up with the ban of smoking in public places and an order was issued that anybody who would be caught red handed will be fined. However, the law enforcement have been very weak as so far not a single fine have been made in the city as people are seen to smoke everywhere which are termed as public places.
Ironically, just a day after the notification, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced a 10% tax hike on cigarettes and asked people to smoke more so that more revenue is generated and the state is able to compensate the small and medium investors.
Minister of state for health, Chandrima Bhattacharya, however, later said that the prohibition was made only on gutka and pan masala and not on cigarettes.
The notification that was issued on Tuesday says that in "pursuance of regulation 2, 3, and 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (prohibition and restriction on sales) Regulations, 2011, the manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of gutka and pan masala containing tobacco and nicotine as ingredients, by whatsoever name it is available in the market, is hereby prohibited for a period of one year with effect from the 1st day of May in the state of West Bengal in the interest of public health".
It was in September last year that a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed before the Calcutta high court by an NGO of doctors, seeking a ban on gutka and pan masala. The state government had been mulling the plea for the past seven months.
However, it is yet to be seen how effectively the ban is implemented. Earlier, the state had prohibited smoking in public places and an order was issued stating that anybody who is caught redhanded will be fined. However, the law enforcement has been very weak as so far not a single person in the city has been fined. Moreover, people can be regularly spotted smoking in areas that qualify as public places.
In an attempt to curb down the use of food products that contains tobacco or nicotine as its ingredient, the office of the commissioner of food safety under the state health and family welfare department has issued a notification, prohibiting manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of gutkha and panmasala containing tobacco or nicotine as ingredients for a period of one year with effect from May 1 in the state.
Ironically just a day after the notification, chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced a 10% tax hike on cigarettes and asked people to smoke more to generate revenue to compensate the small and medium investors. Minister of state for health Chandrima Bhattacharya however later said that the prohibition was made on gutkha and pan masala only and not on cigarettes.
The state government was pondering to come out with the decision to probihit sale of food which has tobacco or nicotine as their ingredient for quite some time. A few other states have already prohibited tobacco produst like gutkha or pan masala from being sold and used.
The notification that was issued on Tuesday says that in pursuance of regulation 2, 3, and 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (prohibition and restriction on sales) Regulations, 2011, the manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of gutkha and panmasala containing tobacco and nicotine as ingredients, by whatsoever name it is available in the market, is hereby prohibited for a period of one year with effect from the 1st day of May in the state of West Bengal in the interest of public health.
It was September last year that a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed before the Calcutta High Court by an NGO of doctors, seeking a ban on and pan masala.
It is however very much in doubt how much effective the government's effort to curb down use of tobacco products like gutkha or pan masala as the government had earlier come up with the ban of smoking in public places and an order was issued that anybody who would be caught red handed will be fined. However, the law enforcement have been very weak as so far not a single fine have been made in the city as people are seen to smoke everywhere which are termed as public places.
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