MP became the first state to utilise a central law to ban the manufacturing and sale of gutka in the state.
The state issued an order under the Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011, imposing the ban.
The ban comes under the Regulation 2.3.4 which says: “ a food product should not contain any substance which may be injurious to health. Tobacco and nicotine shall not be used as ingredients in food products”. Though these regulations came into force on August 5, 2011, they were never implemented.
“ It is the first time any action has been initiated by a state government after the new regulations came into force. We hope other states will also do the same,” Dr P. C. Gupta, director, Healis- Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health, said.
The central government has not been serious about the ban owing to the strong tobacco lobby. Of late, under pressure from anti- tobacco activists, Union health ministry had written to various states asking for a ban on gutka sales.
“ The Madhya Pradesh government has shown tremendous commitment towards safeguarding the health of the public,” Bhavna Mukhopadhya, executive director, Voluntary Health Association of India, said.
There have been demands to ban gutka because of its association with oral cancer especially in India with 75,000 to 80,000 new cases emerging every year.
India has the highest prevalence of oral cancer globally.