Ban no bar: No reduction in tobacco consumption in Gujarat

The ban on manufacture, sale and publicity of gutkha may have been in effect for exactly a year now, but that hasn’t curtailed consumption of nicotine in the state.

Addicts in fact have devised concoctions as alternative to the banned product. Mix pure tobacco (sold openly) and nicotine-free pan masala and voila!, you have a blend as good as gutkha. It’s readily available at a betel shop near you.

“The two-in-one, Miraj (pre-mixed tobacco) and raw padiki (pure tobacco and limestone) are alternatives to gutkha that addicts have adopted,” said Mahesh Mishra, a city-based distributor of pan masala. “Hence, impact of gutkha ban seems very marginal.”

But a few brands of pan masala – Silver, Zat-Pat, etc – have vanished from the market. “There may not be any impact on customers, but we have seen a fall in number of pan masala brands in the state,” said Mishra.

Vijay Somani, a distributor of several pan masala brands, believes that gutkha is supplied illegally in Gujarat. “Despite prohibition in Gujarat, liquor is still available in state through illegal routes.

Similar is the case with gutkha, though supply may be limited,” said Somani.

Talking of the extension of the ban by one year, Somani said all states, which have banned gutkha, are extending the prohibition every year.

“No state government can ban gutkha completely for all time without tabling a new act similar to liquor prohibition. It’s a farm product, which cannot be banned without implementation of a new act or directive from the Supreme Court (of India),” said Somani.