Uttar Pradesh government has announced to crack down on the sale of spurious and adulterated ‘pan masala’ and ‘gutkha’ in the state.
State medical and health minister Anant Kumar Mishra said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department would be directed to effectively check the trade.
Mishra was replying to a question raised by Shyamdev Rai Chaudhary of BJP in the Assembly in the ongoing monsoon session. Chaudhary alleged such adulteration was causing oral cancer to gutkha consumers.
Being the only state after Maharashtra, the government had constituted FDA last year, to check widespread adulteration in medicine and food items. Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tiwari said the sale of adulterated gutkha which was more rampant, should be checked immediately.
The state government had constituted anti-tobacco cells for effective implementation of Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 of the Centre.
