Keeping in view the harmful effects of tobacco and nicotine-based chewing products like gutka and pan masala on human health, the Uttarakhand government has put a complete ban on the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of these products.
An order to this effect was issued here by Food Safety Commissioner Nitesh Kumar Jha late on Friday evening.
Explaining reasons behind the ban, the order said, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India prohibits use of tobacco and nicotine as an ingredient in any product meant for human consumption but it has been found that gutka, pan masala and several other similar products being sold under different names continue to have a high content of them as components.
The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar banned 12 pan masala brands containing magnesium carbonate in August this year.
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The food and safety department of the state issued the order to raise the health concerns in Bihar.
Earlier in October, the Rajasthan government announced a ban on pan masala containing magnesium carbonate, nicotine, tobacco, mineral oil and flavoured 'supari' in the state.
In September, India banned e-cigarettes. Following the order from the government, manufacturing, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertising related to e-cigarettes are now banned.
Nirmala Sitharaman said the key reason behind the move was the alarming rate at which vaping is becoming popular among the younger population.
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"E-cigarettes were promoted as a way to get people out of their smoking habits but reports have shown that many people are not using it as weaning mechanism but are addicted to it," said Sitharaman while announcing the government's decision to put a ban on e-cigarettes.
The minister added, "Reports say that there are some who are probably getting into the habit of e-cigarettes as it seems cool. It is believed that there are more than 400 brands, none of which is manufactured in India. And they come in over 150 flavours."
In India, the number of deaths caused by tobacco is expected to touch of 1.5 million by 2020, up from 1.3 million deaths per year in 2017.?