PAN MASALA BANNED IN KERALA
Kerala had become the second State in the country after Madhya
Pradesh to ban gutkha products .Kerala government has imposed a
ban on manufacture, storage and sale of gutkha, panmasala and their variants
containing tobacco and nicotine in the State.The ban was ordered under the Food
Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulation, 2011,
treating gutkha, panmasala and their variants as food products, with immediate
effect.The ban was decided upon as the products caused diseases such as
cancer and addiction among youth. The ban was a long standing demand
from parents and many others. The government would lose Rs 15 crore in tax
revenue because of the ban. The tax had been raised from 20 to 22 per cent in
current year’s Budget.The Chief Minister recalled that the government had
banned sale of pan masala and gutkha products within 400 metres from
educational institutions. Efforts to ban it across the State under the
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act had not been successful.Collectors would
head squads to check sale or distribution of the tobacco products.
Tobacco
Free Kerala, a coalition of like-minded organisations in the area of
anti-tobacco campaigns, was launched in December last with the Minister as
chairman to support the government activities for checking use of tobacco. Paul
Sebastian, Director, Regional Cancer Centre here, is its Vice Chairman.
Widespread use of pan masala and Gutkha products had come to the notice of the
government, especially among the youth.
Gutkha is a powdery, granular white smokeless product that contains
arecanut, tobacco, nicotine, lime, spices, cardamom, catechu, colouring agents
and pleasing flavouring odours. According to Global Adult Tobacco Survey
2009-10, 10.7 per cent of adults in Kerala use smokeless tobacco products such
as gutkha and pan masala.Studies have shown that gutkha is more addictive than
ordinary chewing tobacco. It is highly carcinogenic as it contains both tobacco
and arecanut. Gutkha use is strongly associated with the development of oral
submucosal fibrosis, which causes difficulty in opening the mouth. Nearly
two-third of patients with this condition develops cancer, an official release
said.
DO YOU WANT THIS TEMPORARY PLEASURE ,DECISION IS
YOURS,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,?????????????????????????? LIFE URS
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| ORAL CANCER |
