FDA launches drive against scented tobacco, units to be shut down

With Maharashtra Food Safety Commissioner prohibiting storage, distribution and sale of tobacco and areca nut — flavoured, scented or mixed with additives and goes by the name of gutkha, pan masala, scented supari or kharra — from July 20, several measures are being taken to ensure that consignments are not transported and manufacturing units are shut down.

FDA commissioner Mahesh Zagade told Newsline that gutkha worth Rs 21 crore was seized last year. Now, all manufacturing units of flavoured tobacco will be closed and FDA teams will monitor the borders. "I have written to the police and municipal commissioners about the ban and directed food safety officers to conduct a meeting on implementing the it," he said. Railway authorities will also be notified not to allow such consignments into the state.

According to the FDA commissioner, it is the flavouring, scenting, adding or mixing of one or the other additives or modification of the physical texture or combination of tobacco with areca nut (betel nut) that transforms these foods and makes them appealing to a wide spectrum of population, including children.

Consumption of these addictive products is increasing, causing damage to the health of consumers and impacting the genetic make-up of future generations. Some of the additives are extremely dangerous and are prohibited under the Food Safety and Standards (contaminants, toxins and residues) Regulations, 2011; Food Safety and Standards (food products standards and food additives) Regulations, 2011; and the Food Safety and Standards (prohibition and restrictions on sales) Regulations 2011, Zagade said.

Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, Associate Professor at Tata Memorial Hospital, said Maharashtra has become the first state to prohibit all flavoured chewing tobacco and supari sold under all names and combinations. "This order takes care of unpackaged zarda, khaini and kharra too. It will reduce the incidence of cancers and other disease dramatically in the next five years," he said.

Nearly 45 per cent of cancer deaths in India are related to tobacco and 20 per cent of all deaths are related to tobacco.

Tobacco addiction is a disease as per WHO International Classification of Disease, Chaturvedi added. Chewing Tobacco (zarda, khaini, kharra, masheri, mawa etc) and flavoured supari (pan masala, supari mix, scented supari etc) are posing serious health problems in Maharashtra. Gutkha is a flavored combination of chewing tobacco and supari. These products contain several flavouring agents such as menthol, perfume, spices and sugar, and aggressively marketed as mouth fresheners, Chaturvedi pointed out.