Cancer in a packet: Why you should say no to 'pan masala'

Don’t be fooled by pan masala ads: what is purported to be a harmless mouth freshener, a simple mouth-cooling snack, is actually very addictive and also cause cancer, say doctors.

“Pan masala advertisements simply act as surrogate ads for gutkha companies.  They are not allowed by law to advertise gutkha, so they use pan masala ads. Often, the packaging and visual look of the pan masala packets are exactly similar to the gutkha packets,” says Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, cancer surgeon at Tata Memorial Centre.

And pan masala itself is not harmless. “Areca nut (supari), the main ingredient of pan masala, is extremely addictive. In fact it is in the league of caffeine, tobacco and alcohol when it comes to addictive properties. Not only is it addictive, it also causes a high number of cases of submucous fibrosis. Which can easily turn cancerous,” says Dr Chaturvedi.

“Often these tobacco companies portray their products in a glamourous way, thereby attracting children. Chewing on them is shown to be a sign of masculinity, as well as a symbol of social status. Women, too, have increasingly started using these products,” says Dr Anand Bakshi senior consultant oncologist at LH Hiranandani Hospital.

This is especially true in villages and small towns. Aftab Khan, 32, who hails from Kamalganj village in Farukabad, UP, is in Mumbai because he’s suffering from stage-four oral cancer.

“In our village, boys and girls as young as eight chew gutkha.  Every time a new gutkha company comes in to the market, it gives out free samples to everyone. This way, even kids get addicted. It’s a cultural thing in our village now. If you go to someone’s house for a visit, the first thing they greet you with is gutkha,” he says.

But the wooing of young tobacco users is not restricted to small towns. Last year an NGO found that more than 80% of 91 surveyed Mumbai schools had shops that sold tobacco within a hundred yards of their establishment.

“The government needs to wake up to what is happening. They’ve banned the advertisement of gutkha, which is a positive step, and they should ban pan masala advertisements as well. And the pan masala packets should definitely have warnings labels on them,” adds Dr Chaturvedi.