Delhi govt bans sale of all forms of chewable tobacco for 1 year

The Delhi government has banned for one year the sale, purchase and storage of all forms of chewable tobacco, including “gutka, pan masala, khaini and zarda”, in the national Capital.

The Department of Food Safety on Wednesday issued a notification in this regard.

According to the notification, unpackaged products of chewable tobacco, too, are covered under the ambit of the ban.

“The manufacture, storage, distribution, or sale of tobacco which is either flavoured, scented or mixed... and whether going by the name or form of gutka, pan, masala, flavoured/scented tobacco, kharra, or otherwise... whether packaged or unpackaged and/or sold as one product, or though packaged as separate products, sold or distributed in such manner so as to easily facilitate mixing by the consumer” is prohibited for a period of one year, the notification stated. 

Health department officials said a notification was issued by Delhi government in September, 2012, in pursuance of a series of directions from Supreme Court for a ban on ‘gutka’ in the city.

But since the term ‘gutka’ was used in that notification, tobacco retailers started selling the components of ‘gutka’ (betel nut and raw tobacco) in separate pouches, thus defeating the purpose behind the ban on gutka.

The health department had, therefore, come up with a new proposal for banning all raw chewable tobacco products in Delhi, a senior official said.

Gutka, a combination of areca nut, slaked lime, paraffin and katechu along with tobacco, is virtually poison. Promoted as a mouth freshener, this mixture is a combination of 4,000 chemicals of which at least 40 are carcinogenic compounds, say doctors.

People get addicted to it as gutka is reported to have stimulant and relaxation effects. While most consumers believe that the blend is not harmful, doctors, especially oncologists, say consumption of gutka is more harmful than any other form of tobacco.

This is because when a person chews gutka, the mixture directly enters the system through the oral cavity. In the case of smoking, 20 per cent of the harmful chemicals reach the lungs and 80 per cent is exhaled. 

While narrowing of the blood vessels can cause gangrene, stoppage of blood supply in extreme cases can cause stroke. In women, consumption of gutka during pregnancy can result in low birth weight babies, he says.

Apart from these harmful effects, gutka can also cause loss of appetite, unusual sleep patterns and loss of concentration, the doctors add.