The Delhi government on Friday issued a notification banning all products containing chewable tobacco such as gutka, pan masala, flavoured/scented tobacco and kharra saying it can damage the health of consumers and lead to alterations in the genetic make-up of future generations. The ban is, however, only for a year beginning from the date of gazette notification. “In the interest of the public health, commissioner food safety is responsible for prohibiting in the interest of public health the manufacture, storage, distribution or sale of these articles.,” reads the notification issued on March 25, 2015. [related-post] The notification issued by Food Safety commissioner K K Jindal stated that the articles mentioned in the notification - whether packaged, unpacked, sold as one product or packaged as separate products — sold or distributed in such a manner so as to easily facilitate mixing by the consumer will be banned. Even after the ban came into place in Delhi in September 2012, those selling tobacco products found lacuna in the ban and started selling tobacco in other forms. “Even the packing was changed. From plastic bags it became paper pouches. But, this time, we have tried to ban even the chewable tobacco available in the loose form,” the official said. The department has given a week’s time to let the message reach the market. “We have been told to start inspections only after a week of the notification. We will form teams to carry out the inspections. We have asked staff to conduct checks even at zonal levels to curb the flow of these products from neighbouring states like UP,” a senior official said.
