Delhi Government ups ante on tobacco control

During Delhi Government's latest anti-tobacco drive, of the 62 samples of Pan Masala along with tobacco, five samples were found to be unsafe for consumption, and 18 samples were declared mis-branded by the Food Analyst. The government has forwarded its report to the Union Health Ministry.

"Necessary action is being taken in the matter as per provisions of Law," MM Kutty, Delhi Chief Secretary stated in his letter to the Secretary, Union Health Ministry.

Recently, the Union Health Ministry had criticised the Delhi government on its inability to implement tobacco ban, and asked for a status report. Faggan Singh Kulaste, Minister of State Health and Family Welfare had said at an event that Delhi needed to step up its actions on tobacco control. "The sale of tobacco has been banned in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. In Delhi, the ban on tobacco has been imposed many times but this is reflected only on papers," Kulaste had said.

Delhi government is among the first to submit its report regarding tobacco control since the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) asked for the status report on its tobacco control measures in December 2016 following a Supreme Court order on September 23, 2016 banning chewing tobacco products.

"The Delhi government had already issued a notification on April 12, 2016 as per Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 prohibiting for a period of one year the manufacture, storage, distribution, or sale of Tobacco, which is either flavoured, scented or mixed with any of the said additives, and whether going by the name or form of Gutka, Pan Masala, flavoured/ scented tobacco/ kharra, or otherwise, whatever name called whether packaged or unpackaged and/or sold as one product, or though packaged as separate products, sold of distributed in such a manner so as to easily facilitate mixing by the consumer," Kutty stated.

According to the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on sales) Regulations, 2011 issued by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), under the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, tobacco and nicotine shall not be used as ingredients in any food products. Thus, banning sale of all food products where tobacco is present as ingredient in the final product, whether going by the name of gutka, pan masala or zarda.

The Ministry had written to all states for issuing strict directions for banning the production, promotion and sale of these food products. However, states such as Bihar, Karnataka, Mizoram, Kerala and Madhya pradesh have issued orders in compliance of the apex Court's order; several states are yet to follow the ban.

As per the MoHFW figures, 34.6 per cent Indians are said to consume tobacco. Of these, 47.9 per cent are males, and 20.3 per cent females. One in every 10 deaths is due to consumption of tobacco and by the year 2030, 80 lakh people would die because of high tobacco consumption.