Section
5 of “The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of
Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply
and Distribution) Act, 2003” (COTPA 2003) prohibits all forms of
advertisements (direct/indirect) of tobacco products including gutka,
except at the points of sale or on the tobacco product packs. Moreover,
under Food Safety Regulations, the production, sale, distribution and
storage of food items such as gutka and pan masala containing tobacco or
nicotine is prohibited. Litigation on these issues are pending before
Hon’ble Supreme Court.
The advertisement of pan masala (without tobacco or nicotine) is regulated by the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011, dated 1st August, 2011, notified by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Under sections 30 & 31 of this regulation, pan masala can be advertised subject to the condition that every package of Pan Masala and advertisement relating thereto, shall carry the warning, “Chewing of Pan Masala or Supari is injurious to health”.
In recent past, a few advertisements were published in leading national and regional dailies by a body named Smokeless Tobacco Association, raising questions on whether Gutkha was a food product and also implying that Gutkha was less harmful than smoking forms of tobacco and that Food Safety Regulations were discriminatory in nature. To counter the misinformation, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare published a public notice highlighting the medical and legal facts, the harmful effects of all forms of tobacco use and the desirability of quitting tobacco use for a healthy and long life.
This information was given by Minister for Health & Family Welfare Shri Ghuam Nabi Azad in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.
The advertisement of pan masala (without tobacco or nicotine) is regulated by the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011, dated 1st August, 2011, notified by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Under sections 30 & 31 of this regulation, pan masala can be advertised subject to the condition that every package of Pan Masala and advertisement relating thereto, shall carry the warning, “Chewing of Pan Masala or Supari is injurious to health”.
In recent past, a few advertisements were published in leading national and regional dailies by a body named Smokeless Tobacco Association, raising questions on whether Gutkha was a food product and also implying that Gutkha was less harmful than smoking forms of tobacco and that Food Safety Regulations were discriminatory in nature. To counter the misinformation, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare published a public notice highlighting the medical and legal facts, the harmful effects of all forms of tobacco use and the desirability of quitting tobacco use for a healthy and long life.
This information was given by Minister for Health & Family Welfare Shri Ghuam Nabi Azad in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.
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