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Don’t chew pan masala and spit in court premises: Supreme Court issues warning
Supreme Court circular: The circular urges all concerned not to engage in spitting of pan masala/gutka, or tobacco in the court premises.
The circular was issued by the Admn. General Branch of the Supreme Court. (Image generated using AI)
The Supreme Court administration on Thursday published on its website a warning against those in the habit of chewing pan masala or gutka, or tobacco products and spitting the residue in washbasins in court premises which leads to risk of “infections”.
The circular dated February 11 reads, “It has been observed that some of the building users are in the habit of chewing pan masala/gutka, tobacco etc. and spitting the residue in the wall corners, washbasins, drinking water facilities etc. This habit results in water blockage and risk of infections, besides putting other building users to inconvenience (sic).”
Supreme Court has urged for cooperation in keeping the court premises clean and tidy.
The communication issued by the assistant registrar added, “It is, therefore, impressed upon all concerned not to engage in spitting of pan masala/gutka, tobacco, etc., in the premises and cooperate in keeping the premises clean and tidy.”
FSSAI enforces Supreme Court’s ban on gutka, pan masala in 2017
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued a directive on October 9, 2017, banning the manufacture, sale and distribution of gutka and pan masala (with tobacco and nicotine). The directive was issued to Commissioners/Offices In-charge of Food Safety of all states and union territories in the country. The Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on sales) Regulations, 2.3.4, prohibit the use of tobacco and nicotine as ingredients in any food products and bans sale of all food products where tobacco is present as an ingredient, such as gutka and pan masala.
The FSSAI’s ban on gutka and pan masala, which is supported by a Supreme Court order, is a welcome move as earlier, only state governments/UTs were issuing orders for banning the manufacturing and sale of gutka and pan masala with tobacco and/or nicotine, Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, Head and Neck surgeon at Tata Memorial Hospital said.
He pointed out that the result of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey conducted in 2016-17 had found that 29.6 per cent of men, 12.8 per cent of women and 21.4 per cent of all adults currently use smokeless tobacco. However, due to the initiative taken by the government like ban on certain forms of smokeless tobacco products, such as gutka, pan masala (with tobacco and nicotine), the number of tobacco users has dropped by at least Rs 81 lakh.
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