Gutkha Ban: ‘Spit’ Personality Disorder Takes A Beating

His aides may be drawing flak, but Anna Hazare continues to command respect in the hearts of countless Indians. And recently when at the Jantar Mantar, he digressed from his tirade against corruption and advised the youth to say no to liquor and gutkha, activists must have heaved a sigh a relief because Anna has a captive audience. When he speaks, people are all ears.

It was indeed thought provoking when Anna drew a parallel between the toxicity of substance abuse and political power. He said, “Like liquor and guthka, power is also intoxicating.” He then exhorted the youth to abstain from substance abuse and instead focus on the betterment of the country. To drive his point home, Hazare said,

“It is painful for me to see young people smoking, drinking alcohol or consuming gutkha. They should learn to resist these temptations as all they’ll get in return is an ailing body.” Absolutely right Anna!

Well, we are not going to talk about Anna or corruption or his stand on substance abuse. By citing his views, we merely aimed at giving your thought process a cue to think about the various facets of the recent gutkha ban by half a dozen States of the country. For the uninitiated, gutkha is a cheap, mass-produced mix of tobacco, crushed areca nut and other ingredients.

That half-a-dozen States have banned gutkha is a testimony to the harmful effects of gutkha consumption. To further establish the evidence for those of you who did not find the previous line convincing, here are some facts related to the ill-effects of tobacco consumption.

According to reliable information, nearly six million people from around the world die every year due to tobacco-related diseases. Of these, one million deaths occur in India alone. Globally, India is the second largest consumer as well as producer of tobacco products after China. Around 35 per cent of adult population in India uses tobacco in some or the other form, with nearly 50 per cent of the males and over 20 per cent of the females being part of this poison wagon. A large majority of these tobacco users prefer smokeless tobacco products like betel quid with tobacco, gutkha, paan masala and khaini to smoking tobacco. 

In the light of these facts, the tobacco ban seems justified. But the industry is obviously fuming over the decision, which was taken under the provisions of the Food Safety & Standards (Prohibition & Restrictions on sales) Regulation 2011, notified by the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The rule 2.3.4 of the notification states that no food article shall contain tobacco or nicotine in the products. Under the Food Security and Standard Assessment Act, the food and drug administration can impose a penalty of Rs 25,000 on any person found selling gutkha.

Now those against the ban say it is weird to consider tobacco as a food product and impose a ban on gutkha.

Well, their disgust is justified. Till about a year ago, gutkha was an industry worth Rs 20,000 crore. But now, the industry is reporting losses and hence the disgust.

Sanjay Bechan, Executive Director, Smokeless Tobacco Federation of India, has been quoted as saying,

“The industry has been deteriorating ever since the Supreme Court banned packaging. We were reduced to almost 60 per cent of our size and now this ban by the States... since states are banning, we have suffered losses. Gutkha is a scheduled tobacco product. So my legal position is very clear, it is not food, it’s tobacco. It's unscientific and undemocratic on the part of the government to ban gutkha.”

Okay, even if for a while we buy this theory, but how does it justify the ill-effects of gutkha? Is the food versus tobacco logic ground enough to promote gutkha consumption? Well, you know the answer.

According to reliable estimates, gutkha ban is a huge health relief for the country, as India battles close to 80,000 new oral cancer cases every year.

Pankaj Chaturvedi of Tata Memorial corroborates the estimate when he is quoted as saying,

“India has the maximum number of mouth cancer cases. Apart from this, gutkha consumption may also lead to several precancerous conditions like Submucous fibrosis in which the mouth of the person doesn’t open.”

According to reliable web resources, around five million children in India are already addicted to oral tobacco and more than 5,000 begin with gutkha consumption every day. Reality bites!

So, what leaves us wondering is that why just six States? Why are other States silent on tackling this silent killer? Even if they are not silent, why are they dilly-dallying? Come on, politics can be put on the backburner on issues like these, which pertain to health and wellness.

Agreed that a mere ban would not suffice for pinning the addiction, but any such initiative is ultimately a step ahead. So, let us do all to help the society get rid of this ‘spit’ personality disorder. We do not want an India with a stained smile.