A group of bureaucrats, health professionals and social advocates in Kerala have collectively given a call to ban consumption of tobacco-based paan masala and gutkha products by law, following the example of Assam, which recently passed such a legislation.
Reflecting public sentiment, they said the desired impact of the ban - of reducing the public health burden - cannot be achieved unless consumption is also prohibited.
K Anil Kumar, Commissioner (in-charge), Food Safety, said illicit smuggling of these products into Kerala is one of the major challenges in implementing an effective ban.
He said stringent action has been taken against violators since 2012 when Kerala banned these products. However, illicit smuggling of these products has been a major challenge in implementing an effective ban of paan masala and gutkha containing tobacco and nicotine, he said in a release today.
Kerala is the second state after Madhya Pradesh to ban manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of gutkha and paan masala containing tobacco or nicotine as ingredients under the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations 2011.
K Ramadas, Medical Superintendent, Regional Cancer Centre here said that while oncologists and the medical fraternity at large can treat and provide care to the cancer afflicted, legislative reform, as effected in Assam, would have far reaching positive implications.
"Chewing tobacco, whether it is paan masala and gutkha, is a major cause of cancers affecting the head and neck in Kerala," he said.
Ramadas said he had seen several youth who had lost their taste buds, parts of their tongue and jawbones due to use of these smokeless tobacco products.
"This sorry state can be corrected to a great extent if Kerala can also legislatively ban the consumption of chewing tobacco products," he said.
Assam has banned consumption of paan masala, gutkha, zarda and so on containing tobacco or nicotine under 'Assam Health (Prohibition of manufacturing, advertisement, trade, storage, distribution, sale and consumption of zarda, gutkha, paan masala, etc, containing tobacco and/or nicotine) Act, 2013'.
The Act also makes specific reference on prohibiting advertisements of these products.
Violators are liable to be punished with imprisonment up to seven years and a fine between Rs one lakh and Rs five lakh, the release added.
