Is Gutkha Ban effective ?

Recently, the Karnataka State Government imposed a ban on manufacturing and sale of gutkha and paan masala containing tobacco or nicotine on World No Tobacco Day on May 31st. This decision by the state government has received mixed reactions where several Health Organisations, Doctors etc have welcomed this move whereas arecanut farmers, distributors & some political parties have strongly criticized it.

While tobacco products are banned in many other states in India, Karnataka joining the list, what needs to be seen is how much effective the Tobacco Ban is on curbing the growing cases of Tobacco-related diseases in India.

The recent report by National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW) has concluded that India accounts for the 86% of total oral cancer cases reported in the world. It is only justified that steps like imposing a ban on tobacco products or increasing the tax on it will arrest the further growth of cancer cases if not decrease it. Rajasthan state government might have taken the cue of this study and hence after their constant increase in tax rates for 3 consecutive years, there has been an whooping 61% decline in cigarette consumption & 55% decline in 'chewing tobacco' product sales.

According to experts, India is the 4th largest consumer of tobacco products, and the ban will certainly have significant effect in reducing the tobacco related disease in country. But stats have some different story to say. According to survey, in spite of ban on tobacco products there has been constant rise in sales of tobacco & cigarette products. One of the following paan shop owners said "We may or may not sell gutkha once the old stock gets over. Our customer base has been marginally affected as of now. If the government strictly imposes the ban, it will be difficult to sell gutkha openly but a total ban on these products is impossible". Whereas one of the gutkha chewer said that though it is uneasy to buy gutkha, but not impossible as it is still available in black market.

So even after an official ban on tobacco products, they are still accessible in black market. The best bet would be to enlighten the people about the ill-effects of the tobacco people & discourage them from consuming them.

Reference Links http://zeenews.india.com/news/health/diseases/india-has-86-of-global-oral-cancercases_20540.html http://ibnlive.in.com/news/world-no-tobacco-day-have-gutka-bans-increase-in-taxesworked/395174-17.html http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/gutka-products-dearer-after-ban-inkarnataka/article4783175.ece Image Src http://healthmeup.com/news-buzz/odisha-to-ban-gutka/18740