Manikchand speaks: Too much milk harmful

Gutkha is not harmful if consumed in limited quantities. Even if you drink excess milk, you will have digestion problems. Why should they single out gutkha?’’ asked Rasiklal Dhariwal, chairman of Manikchand Group and vice president of Zafarani Zarda and Pan Masala Association of India (ZZPA) at a press meet organised to protest the state government’s decision to ban gutkha and pan masala in Maharashtra.

Dhariwal said the association was planning to challenge the state government enforced ban on the tobacco product before the Bombay High Court by next week. ‘‘Our legal experts are now studying the government notification,’’ he added.

He also ridiculed the government’s view that magnesium carbonate, an ingredient in gutkha, was harmful. ‘‘We use it to add colour and lustre to the product after testing it in our laboratories. We use only 0.7 per cent of it in a two gm pouch and this is not harmful,’’ he stressed. He pointed out that the chemical was also being used in some medicines, toothpastes and mineral water sold abroad.

Dhariwal’s main argument was that gutkha was a less harmful form of tobacco than any other tobacco products. ‘‘I chew eight to 10 packets of gutkha everyday. I have no health problems,’’ he added.