Sale of chewing tobacco banned from Monday in Delhi

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Friday issued a notification banning the sale, purchase and storage of all forms of chewable tobacco including gutkha, khaini and zarda in the national capital.

The move comes after a review by the AAP government of the implementation of the ban, which revealed that it was not effective due to various factors, one of them being the lack of clarity about some clauses of the notification.

He said enforcement teams of Delhi Police and the health department have been asked to conduct surprise inspections across the city to ensure that the ban is implemented. However, no such ban will be enforced on cigarettes.

Health department officials said there was a Delhi government notification in September 2012, which was in pursuance of a series of directions from the Supreme Court to ban gutkha in the city. But since the ban mentioned the term “gutkha”, the tobacco retailers started selling the components of gutkha (betel nut and raw tobacco) in separate pouches. So, the purpose of banning gutkha was not served.

According to officials, gutkha is also being supplied to retailers in Delhi from neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Stepping up its efforts towards tobacco control, the health department has also launched an innovative drive, creating a “Tobacco Aware Citizens’ Directory” to spread the word about its harmful effects.

In Delhi, surveys reveal, nearly 10.5% adults (16.7% of males and 2.8% of females) consume smokeless tobacco products. “Enforcement is key issue. Also, we need to check surrogate ads,” said another doctor.

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Source:Timesofindia