L-G extends ban on tobacco products in city for another yr

New Delhi: Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has extended the ban on the manufacture, storage, sale and distribution of tobacco products, which includes gutkha, flavoured or scented tobacco, Kharra and pan masala in packed or unpacked form, in Delhi for another year on Thursday, according to the L-G’s office.

This comes in the face of rising cases of oral cancer in the city. The Delhi Population Based Cancer Registries (PBCR) released a report stating that cancer is expected to rise by 23 per cent until 2026 in the national Capital, where tobacco has already contributed to 26.3- 39.3 per cent of males having tobacco-related cancer, while females at 11.6 per cent.

Additionally, one of the leading cancers seen in men is mouth cancer which constitutes 7.6 per cent.

“It (tobacco) is now affecting children and youngsters and this menace should be contained for the future generations,” mentioned the L-G while emphasising that a “lackadaisical” attitude towards this ban will not be tolerated.

Under Regulation 2.3.4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations, 2011, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare prohibited selling tobacco and nicotine products to be used as ingredients in any food products.

On September 27, 2022, the Delhi High Court had rejected the ban imposed by the Food Safety Commission, mentioning that it was issued in a “mechanical manner and the authorities exceeded the powers vested in them”, adding that the Commissioner of Food Safety can only issue prohibition orders in cases of emergency after being heard by the concerned food operator. It had also called the ban a violation of Article 14.

After appeals were filed against it by the Central and Delhi Governments, a bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma set aside the previous ruling in April this year, stating that there “existed no justification” for it.

The court dismissed the objections put forth by tobacco businesses against the prohibitions issues from 2015 to 2021 while adding that “Article 14 cannot possibly be invoked on the ground that since a particular genre of tobacco has not been banned, there should be no prohibition in respect of an equally harmful article”.

The Food Safety Department of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) will soon issue a notification regarding the ban extension with this approval by L-G. This was his first such act after passing the GNCTD Amendment Bill.