New Delhi, It Is clear that the manufacturers of pan
masala,packged chewing tobacco will not be able to use the ruse os selling the
masala and the tobacco in two separate packs to be mixed by the consumer. The
ban imposed by the Supreme Court earlier, will be strictly enforced.
The said Regulation 2.3.4. mandates prohibition and restriction
on sale of food products having tobacco and nicotine as its ingredients and
bans food products such as gutkha, pan masala, zarda, and other forms of
chewing tobacco etc. for having tobacco and nicotine as its ingredients. This
regulation had been upheld by the Supreme Court in 2013 but the tobacco
industry had been by-passing the regulation by selling the ingredients of
gutkha – pan-masala and chewing tobacco - separately as twin packs.
The Hon`ble Supreme Court had been hearing the matter from 1st September
2016 and tobacco industry under threat of its existence had deployed many of
the senior-most counsels on the matter and were clearly trying to stall the
proceedings. Even after 7 hearings the Court found that the parties wanted to
submit more documents and the bench of Justice Gopal Gowda and Justice Adarsh
Goel found themselves unable to conclude the matter. The matter was adjurned to
9th November 2016 however the Court issued an interim order
which effectively shuts down the packaged chewing tobacco industry.
The Court acted on a plea from the Amicus Curiae, Gopal
Subramaniam, who said that the manufacturers of chewing tobacco are
circumventing the Supreme Court`s direction to implement gutkha ban by selling
the same product in twin pouches, the Amicus also stated that today he is speaking for millions of users of
chewing tobacco who are not before this court but our suffering (being
afflicted with numerous disease) due to products manufactured by the
petitioners.
Mr.Gopal Subramanium, along with the Ministry of Health &
Family Welfare Advocate Sh. Ajit Sinha, brought to the notice of the Court para
21 of Government Affidavit, which stated:
“It is submitted that
to circumvent the ban on the sale of gutkha, the manufacturers are
selling pan masala (without tobacco) with flavoured chewing tobacco in separate
sachets but often conjoint and sold together by the same vendors from the same
premises, so that consumers can buy the pan masala and flavoured chewing
tobacco and mix them both and consume the same. Hence instead of the earlier
“ready to consume mixes”, chewing tobacco companies are selling gutkha in twin
packs to be mixed as one.”
In order The Supreme Court has
directed strict enforcement of the above Regulation 2.3.4., and asked the
Health Secretaries of all states to file a compliance report by 9th November.
Welcoming the order, Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, surgeon and
Professor at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai said that this order finally ends
the gutkha industry which has led to an epidemic of oral cancers in the
country.
Mr. Ranjit Singh, a noted lawyer, remarked that this is a
landmark order which will plug the legal loop-holes the tobacco industry was
using to bye-pass the ban on gutkha and continue to ply their trade.
Dr. Harit Chaturvedi, VoTV patron and Chairman Max Oncology said the order saying that we
can now hope to see a decline in the fearsome rates of oral cancers sweeping
our state. This order needs to be strictly enforced by the state government so
that there is a real impact on the health of the citizens.
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