Uttarakhand Imposes One-Year Ban On Gutkha, Tobacco-Laced Pan Masala; Order Effective 13 Oct

Uttarakhand has banned the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of gutkha, pan masala and other food products that contain tobacco or nicotine for one year. The order was issued on Tuesday by Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey and is effective from October 13.

The ban is applicable to the entire state and applies to banned products regardless of the name under which they are sold.

The order has been issued under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011.

Regulation 2.3.4 already prohibits the use of tobacco and nicotine as ingredients in food products, but officials found their use continuing in products like gutkha and pan masala.

Reason Behind The Ban Imposed

The main reason behind this is that the Commissioner said public health was the biggest factor in the decision. Smokeless tobacco remains a major concern in India. The country is the world's largest consumer of smokeless tobacco, with about 26% of adults using it, and nearly one million people die every year from tobacco use.

This is not the first time Uttarakhand has gone down this route. The state has issued similar bans before, in 2013, 2015 and 2019.

Such orders run for a year at a time and are renewed periodically, which is why states keep re-notifying them.
Other states are on the same cycle. Karnataka banned tobacco-laced gutkha and pan masala for a year in August. Gujarat extended its ban, which now runs until September 2027.

There is no single national ban, as states act through periodic notifications under FSSAI rules.
The tougher test is enforcement. The Supreme Court was earlier told that manufacturers were selling pan masala and flavoured chewing tobacco in separate pouches, sold together to be mixed by the consumer, to get around such bans.