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Maharashtra bans gutkha, pan masala under FSS Regulations 2011 for a year
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Saturday, 21 July, 2012, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Archana Aroor, Mumbai
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fiogf49gjkf0d The ban on gutkha and pan masala has come into effect from Friday in Maharashtra.
In this regard, a notification that specifies the ban - sale and consumption of gutkha and pan masala - has been issued by the state government. It would be valid for a year, after which it might be extended for another 12 months. This information was given by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials at a press conference held here on Friday.
While the ban came into effect now, the decision for the same was taken by the state cabinet last week itself. It was deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar who had first sought the ban in spite of the fact that the state would lose crores of rupees in tax from gutkha and pan masala manufacturers. Pawar had said that the government was keen on the ban as it did not want to compromise on the health of the public.
“The state had attempted to ban gutkha and pan masala but had several hurdles in implementing the same but now we have strategically designed the move,” explained Mahesh Zagade, food safety commissioner, FDA, Maharashtra.
Zagade pointed out that as per the new Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011, Section 2.3.4, gutkha was an article of food which contained tobacco, nicotine and magnesium carbonate as ingredients; whereby pan masala was an article of food which contained magnesium carbonate as an ingredient, and thus contravened Regulation 3.1.7 of the said regulation.
He added, “It was expedient to prohibit the manufacture, storage, distribution or sale of gutkha or pan masala in the state of Maharashtra,” as “in exercise of powers conferred by the Clause (a) of sub-section (2) of Section 30 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, in the interest of public health, manufacture, storage, distribution or sale of gutkha or pan masala containing either tobacco or magnesium carbonate or nicotine by whatsoever name these are available in the market and any other products marketed separately to constitute as gutkha and pan masala would hereby prohibited in the state for a period of one year.”
Zagade stated that the ban was imposed after observing the ill-effects of gutkha on the health of consumers, particularly on the younger generation, which was habituated to consuming tobacco.
He then said that this was not an initiative taken by the FDA but by a team of many bodies, NGOs, policemen, the public and the media who would be coordinating with each other in all the ways to achieve the goal.
Other states that have imposed a similar ban include Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. Himachal Pradesh is also working towards the ban.
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