The Hindu : Ban on Gutka, paan masala in Maharashtra

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 18, 2002

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Ban on Gutka, paan masala in Maharashtra

By Mahesh Vijapurkar

MUMBAI July 17. Addictive `gutka' and `paan masala', with or without tobacco, is being banned from August 1 in Maharashtra, where even school and college students are increasingly becoming their consumers.

The ban covers the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale as well as advertising of the product, the Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, announced here today after pointing out that Maharashtra had waited long enough in vain for the Centre to do this. He,, however, conceded that the ban on sale of `gutka' within 100 metres of public institutions imposed in 2000 was ``not successful.''

Studies had shown that the range of nicotine content in the gutka and masalas varied from 0.67 per cent to a high of 2.30 per cent which, besides being habit forming, was also linked to cancer.

Citing a 1997 survey in Mumbai by the Indian Dental Association, Mr. Deshmukh spoke of how 10 to 40 per cent of school children and 70 per cent of college students had taken to gutka and paan masala.

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