Joining several other States, Tamil Nadu on
Wednesday announced a ban on gutka and pan
masala.
The ban on the manufacture, storage and sale
of the carcinogenic chewable forms of tobacco
led a host of announcements Chief Minister
Jayalalithaa made in the Assembly pertaining
to the health sector.
The State Tobacco Control Cell had submitted
a proposal for such a ban last year. An attempt
was made to ban gutka and pan masala as early
as in 2001, but the measure was bogged down
in litigation. The government had then
invoked the Prevention of Food Adulteration
Act for notifying a five-year ban, but the
Supreme Court ruled that only the Centre had
the power to issue such notifications under
that law.
However, what makes the present ban legally
tenable is that it relies on the Food Safety and
Standards Act, which has provisions to prevent
tobacco and nicotine from being used as
ingredients in any food product. The State
Food Safety Wing and the Tobacco Control Cell
are likely to implement the ban, say officials.
Madhya Pradesh was the first to ban gutka and
pan masala after the rules and regulations
under the Food Safety and Standards Act were
notified. Kerala, Gujarat and Mizoram followed
soon. West Bengal joined the group very
recently.
In other measures, Ms. Jayalalithaa said
molecular virology laboratories would be set
up in medical college hospitals. The Madras,
Madurai, Coimbatore, and Tirunelveli Medical
Colleges would get one each at a cost of Rs.
two crore. At present, King Institute, Chennai,
is the sole testing facility for confirming
serotypes that cause dengue, chikungunya and
swine flu.
She also announced steps to boost Indian
systems of medicine. These included a Rs. 15-
crore allocation for improving infrastructure in
government colleges for Indian medicine
systems and ample funds for improving
infrastructure and human resources at the
Government Arignar Anna Siddha Hospital
here.
