Gutkha addicts and a few vendors in Bangalore seem to have found a new way to defeat the state government’s ban on gutkha. Health Department officials say they buy pan masala and tobacco separately and mix them to get at a variant of the banned substance.
Shops, in some instances, were selling the concoction to consumers. Nanda Kumar, a gutkha addict, says he managed to get the banned product in a few shops, but when the stocks got over, he was given pan masala mixed with arecanut and chewing tobacco. He says it did not give him the same ‘high’.
Dr Jayakumar, deputy director, Food Safety, Public Health Institute, told INN that pan masala with tobacco and nicotine content is gutkha. But if pan masala and tobacco are sold separately, the shopkeepers or buyers cannot be punished. Further, he said there may be shops that sell gutkha itself, secretly.
“The state government already has 116 officers from the Food Safety Department to monitor shops that sell banned items. The department has been seizing gutkha from shops and sealing manufacturing units across the state,” Dr Jayakumar said.
Dr Vishal Rao, surgical oncologist and consultant, Public Health Institute, said just a ban on gutkha is not enough, as people will continue to stay addicted to tobacco.
Health Minister U T Khader said miscreants who find loopholes in the system will not be successful for long.
“The ban is in the best interest of the people. It is sad that they want to continue depending on the substance,” he said, maintaining that the real success of the ban could be judged only after six to eight months from the time it is put into effect. The Food Safety Department said people can call 080-22210248 to register their complaints.
The state government also constituted a district-level enforcement committee on July 4. The committee’s chairman is the Deputy Commissioner. The zilla panchayat CEO, district SP, commissioners of local bodies, city municipal council and district health officers are its members. These members have the power to book cases against violators.
In just the three districts of Haveri, Chikballapur and Tumkur, the department has seized 7 kg of gutkha in the last month. Raids are on across the state and 15 manufacturing units were shutdown. In Bangalore zone, two wholesale units were closed. Besides, 114 shops, which had stocks of gutkha, were let off with a warning.
