Nine Indian states ban gutkha!

Nine Indian states - Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharasthra and Rajasthan have banned gutkha containing tobacco or nicotine under the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on sales) Regulation, 2011 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.


The union territory of Chandigarh is also well on its way to ban this deadly product, notification to this effect is updated. 

Regulation 2.3.4 of the Food Safety and Standards Regulation 2011 states, "Product not to contain any substance which may be injurious to health: Tobacco and nicotine shall not be used as ingredients in any food products."


Going by the population figures of various states in Census 2011 and the findings of tobacco usage in Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2009-10, the ban has impacted a population of 48.2 crore and 3.1 crore gutkha users in India.

In Kerala alone, it has impacted 4.9 lakh users. 

The Hindu, Editorial - 26 July 2012

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