Chewing tobacco and paan in public soon to be banned in Maharashtra

Consumption of tobacco and paan (betel leaf) in public would be banned in Maharashtra soon. A source in the public health department said that a government resolution to this effect will be issued this month. Pan/tobacco chewing leads to spitting which is unhygienic and spreads diseases like TB, hence the ban, he said. The resolution would ban consumption of tobacco and paan and spitting in public places including hospitals, airports and gardens. Offenders would be fined. Manufacture, sale or consumption of gutka and paan masala are already banned in the state, so is the smoking in public places. (Read: Asian nations step forward to ban smokeless tobacco products)

What are the dangers of gutka, khaini and other forms of smokeless tobacco?

Sold as mouth fresheners or something similar, these products use menthol, perfume, spices, sugar, etc. to mask the bitter taste of tobacco and other carcinogens and get youngsters hooked. The truth is that tobacco remains the most dangerous consumer product in the world in the 21st century which kills half its patrons (and I see many of them every day, those who've been disfigured by the most horrible forms of oral and mouth cancer) and its very existence is a bane to mankind.

In India, tobacco causes 45% of all cancer deaths and 20% of all deaths. People find it impossible to quit because of the addictive nature of the chemical nicotine so addictive that WHO considers tobacco addiction a disease which sadly afflicts one out of every three Indian. Along with tobacco, gutka and pan masala contains other harmful metal content like lead, cadmium, chromium, arsenic, copper and nickel. Areca nut or betel nut one of the main ingredients of all these products is a confirmed carcinogen according to WHO and a cause of severe illnesses. Read more about Ban on gutka, pan masala, khaini, supari can we finally say goodbye?

With inputs from PTI

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