Gutkha Ban Seems Farce!

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Is gutkha, a chewing material that contains tobacco, really a banned stuff? Yes, it is a banned stuff, but only officially. People buying and munching gutkha is a common scene everywhere in the State.

It was on November 22, 2019 the Food and Drug Administration, Assam, the Commissionerate of Food Safety banned gutkha, pan masala and any other chewing materials that contain tobacco or nicotine. However, such ‘bans in paper’ have little effect on the ground unless those who are at the helm of affairs in executing bans act with the right earnestness. Even after the recent ban, gutkha is being sold in the State, including Guwahati city, openly.

Talking to this reporter, a pan-masala vendor doing business in Guwahati said, “We’ve no knowledge about the ban on gutkha and other tobacco products. We’ve heard such bans earlier as well that only helped tobacco companies hike prices. If a substance has to be banned, the ban should be very effective and total. Ban only in papers won’t serve the purpose. As we know, low-quality zarda and khoini should be totally banned as they are very harmful for human health.”

Another vendor said, “Such tobacco products are not banned in neighbouring Meghalaya. Some businessmen of Assam have their link with their counterparts in the neighbouring State. They take tobacco consignments from Meghalaya clandestinely and sell them in Assam.” When contacted for his comment on this count, Kamrup (M) DC Biswajit Pegu said, “We’ve a team under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COPTA), 2003 to execute the ban on tobacco products. However, because of paucity of the manpower, we’ve not been able to make the ban total. We’re going to send our people to the market to make the ban a reality.”

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