Minister for Health U.T. Khader has
said that the government will explore options to plug loopholes in the Food
Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011.
The announcement came a day after
the Police and the Health Department officials found that separate sachets of
chewing tobacco were being sold after the ban was imposed on sale and
consumption of products containing tobacco and nicotine under the Food Safety
and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011. And,
gutka addicts had switched over to consuming a concoction of pan masala and
chewing tobacco.
A team of officials on Saturday
found sachets of pan masala and chewing tobacco being sold separately at a tea
stall on Cunnigham Road. The Bangalore Urban District Health Officer, Rajani
M., called for an amendment to the regulation banning consumption of gutka.
Section 2.3.4 of the Food Safety and
Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations, 2011, prohibits
the sale of food items containing tobacco and nicotine. But, the gutka lobby
continues to sell chewing tobacco and pan masala separately.
In response, Mr Khader said that the
ban is as per a central law. The State government would write to the Central
government after exploring legal options, he added.
Meanwhile, vendors who were selling
gutka packets and those consuming it pointed out that the imposition of the ban
on gutka and pan masala that contain tobacco or nicotine by the State
government on May 31 was “meaningless” as consumers were able to make gutka by
mixing the two.
For thirty-two-year-old Ranganath
(name changed), an auto driver, ban on sale and consumption of gutka did not
have much of an impact on him. “The only change is that I do not get to eat
tasty gutka like before,” he said even as he mixed chewing tobacco and pan
masala packet before consuming it.
For gutka consumers the ban means
that they have to buy separate sachets of pan masala and chewing tobacco.
In fact, The Hindu found
sachets of pan masala and chewing tobacco of the same brand. “So if we spend
Rs. 7, we can buy the two sachets and mix them. But this is not as tasty as
gutka. Before the ban, I was consuming gutka five times a day, now I eat it
only two times a day,” he added.
At one of the stalls in Koramangala,
the vendor was selling sachets of tobacco and pan masala of different brands,
and he admitted that gutka consumers were buying them.
“Youngsters, workers and people of
all age groups throng these stalls and easily purchase tobacco at any given
point of time. Buyers easily create their version of gutka by mixing the pan
masala and chewing tobacco.” said a vendor in Koramangala seeking anonymity.
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