People Asked Kerala To Put Ban on Chewing Tobacco Products

19 November 2013
Thiruvananthapuram

With the recent incident of findings of about 150 kg of Tobacco products from school areas during the raids, a large group of peoples from Kerala have demanded blanket ban on all chewing tobacco products.

The demonstrators said they wanted all tobacco products not covered under the earlier laws to be prohibited by the state government.The Indian tobacco control law – the Control of Tobacco Products Act, 2003 – by its Section 6(b) prohibits the sale of tobacco products in an area within a radius of 100 metres of educational institutions.

Kerala banned pan masala and gutka May 22, 2012, prohibiting manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of gutka and pan masala containing tobacco or nicotine as ingredients, by whatsoever name.Police Commissioner P.Vijayan, who led the raids in the city, caught a shopkeeper selling cigarette to an 11-year-old student.

Paul Sebastian, director, Regional Cancer Centre and vice chairman, Tobacco Free Kerala, said that 35 percent of the Indian population uses tobacco, of these 21 percent use smokeless tobacco.

The principal of a state owned college, Prema J., sought an awareness campaign, and called on the youth to realize the grave dangers caused by chewing tobacco products. “More than 40 percent of male cancer patients in Kerala are tobacco users. While the ban on pan masala and gukta imposed in many states of the country is welcome, a complete ban on all chewing tobacco products is the need of the hour,” he said.

Source-ummid.com

Found Useful? Do Share: People Asked Kerala To Put Ban on Chewing Tobacco Products: