Harsh Vardhan tells all Cms to ban guthka

After raising excise on cigarettes, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan sent letters to all chief ministers of India, asking them to follow Maharashtra's module and ban chewable form of tobacco and gutkha for an effective tobacco control in the country.

In the letters sent to the chief ministers on August 6, the minister asked them to pass necessary order/notification on banning all forms of processed/flavoured/scented chewing tobacco, whether going by the name or form of gutka, zarda etc.

It was on July 18, 2012, that the state government issued a notification banning the sale and consumption of gutkha and pan masala. Maharashtra was the first state to ban pan masala, which irked its manufacturers leading to almost 20 writ petition being filed in courts against FDA.

Manufacturers and distributors of tobacco products tried to obtain a stay on the ban, but the FDA initiated proposals and invoked stringent provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, and the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954.

Appreciating the union minister's initiative, Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, head and neck onco surgeon, Tata Hospital, Parel, said, "Few states have adopted the ban on smokeless tobacco/chewable form of tobacco. But since the ban is not across India, smuggling and black marketing of these products is on rise. If all states decide to follow what Maharashtra did, we will have effective control of diseases related to tobacco."

In the letter, the union minister cited examples of Maharashtra, Mizoram, Manipur, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Andhra Pradesh where the governments have successfully implemented ban on gutka, zarda and other flavoured chewable form of tobacco under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The letter also cites Allahabad high Court's order in the case of Manohar Lal v/s State of UP. The court said that tobacco is something which is consumed by human beings and it is eaten. So it should be food.

Tobacco is the foremost preventable cause of death and disease in the world today, killing half of the people who use it. If current trends continue, by 2030 tobacco use will kill more than 8 million people worldwide each year. According to Report on Tobacco Control in India 2004, use of tobacco is responsible for causing 8-9 lakh deaths annually in the country.