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Gutka, Paanwallahs and a
Tory candidate
If Tory leadership candidate Kenneth
Clarke is selected his to replace Michael Howard his stated
plan is to resign from the board of British
American Tobacco (he is deputy chairman).
Along with his recent reversal of opinion on the EURO Clarke is
undergoing a metamorphosis aimed to influence grassroots voters who
regard him as a classic 'wet' liberal.
The MP for Rushcliffe might also miss
out on a growing business opportunity in the Indian sub-continent where
nicotine addicts will require to find alternative ways to get their fix.
Yesterday (August 7th) the Sindh
High Court upheld a ban on Gutka,
a
sweet, flavorful tobacco product manufactured in India and exported to
a few other countries. Used by millions of adults it is also marketed
to children. It is used in the same way as American chewing tobacco
and, like American chewing tobacco, is considered responsible for oral
cancer and other severe negative health effects.
Gutka use often begins at a very young age. The product contains large
amounts of sweeteners to conceal the bitterness of the tobacco, and
children often consider it as a type of candy. Symptoms of cancer often
appear by high school or college age. Social custom does not permit
children in India to smoke cigarettes, so gutka use, being all but
invisible to others, is the method of choice.
Maharashtra State has
placed a five year ban on all use of gutka (as a
potentially hazardous foodstuff), but an active black market persists.
Pan masala is a sort of
mouth freshener of Indian origin. The basic
ingredients of pan masala are betelnuts, catechu, cardamom, lime and a
number of fine natural perfuming materials. Gutkha is a variant of Pan
Masala made by adding chewing tobacco in flavored pan masala. Pan
(betel leaf) was originally chewed after meals as the betel leaf is
considered to have digestive properties. However with changing life
style, the Pan has been to some extent been replaced by its counterpart
Pan masala, which is more convenient to carry. These products are
generally habit forming and addictive in nature.
Pan masala and gutkha products are popular in both the urban and the
rural areas of the country. Pan masala has a higher penetration of 8.6%
in the urban areas as compared to 6.6% in the rural areas. The industry
has a strong presence in the western and northern states of
India. According to India online banning is not enough to
prevent the menace.
Need
for a healthy and safe alternative.
Thousands of Gutka chewers went without their favorite pouches on
Thursday August 1st as Maharashtra began implementing its blanket ban
on chewing and sale of Gutka in Maharashtra. Paanwallahs, shops and
stalls selling tobacco products preferred not to sell gutka mostly
fearing imprisonment for six months to three years and a fine of Rs
1,000.
To top this the anti tobacco activists and concerned citizens are
asking why other tobacco products like zarda,
bidis and cigarettes are
still being ignored as health hazards.
But the big question is would a ban on all tobacco products be able to
prevent this national menace? Will this not induce the users to find
other ways and means to procure and satisfy their craving?
Banning addictive substances does not stop people from using them.
Rather, it leads to illegal, parallel markets. Solution lies not just
with the ban but also in providing safe and healthy alternatives. Nicotine Replacement Therapies,
which are aimed at ending tobacco
dependence, should be made easily available simultaneously in the
country. Unlike the western forms of NRTs like transdermal patches,
India should have its own version of NRTs, developed keeping in mind
the lifestyle, habits, tastes and attitudes of the Indian population.
It should be made affordable and accessible to everyone.
Toll of Tobacco Hazards in India:
A survey done by the Indian Dental Association found that 10%-40% of
school students and 70% of students in colleges in Mumbai chew gutka
and paan masala. Gutka, a cocktail of carcinogens contains many
unhealthy addictives like magnesium carbonate, Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol
along with harmful perfumery compounds like Musk Ketones and other
injurious fragrance compounds, which are not safe even in toiletries
and is one of the major causes of Oral cancer in the country. India has
75,000 to 80,000 new cases of oral cancer a year - the world's highest
incidence, and an estimated 2,200 deaths a day are tobacco related.
According to WHO findings, Tobacco is responsible for a significant
amount of morbidity and mortality among middle-aged adults. India has
one of the highest rates of oral cancer in the world, and the rates are
still increasing. Tobacco-related cancers account for about half of all
cancers among men and one-fourth among women.
In 1992, 6.1% of world total unmanufactured tobacco and 1.5 % of world
total manufactured cigarettes were consumed in India. Only about 20% of
the total tobacco consumed in India (by weight) is in the form of
cigarettes. Bidis account for about 40% of tobacco consumption (about
675,000 million bidis), with the rest divided among Gutka, pan masala,
snuff, hookah, hookli, chutta dhumti, and other tobacco mixtures
featuring ingredients such as areca nut. Chuttas and dhumtis are also
smoked in reverse fashion, with the lighted end inside the mouth.
How harmful is Nicotine per se:
According to research findings nicotine in itself is not the
primary
cause of tobacco related disease. The main disease causing elements are
the other carcinogens present in all tobacco products like cigarettes,
gutka, etc.
‘Tar’, a dark, viscous fluid formed from tobacco smoke contains at
least 4,000 different chemicals, including over 50 known carcinogens
and metabolic poisons. Other carcinogens include carbon monoxide,
oxides of nitrogen and hydrogen cyanide. Similarly in Gutka, along with
tobacco other ingredients include … gutka also contains betel nuts,
tobacco, lime and catechu. These substances damage the sensitive oral
mucosa, causing constant irritation and micro trauma to the mucosa.
Chemicals present act as toxin. This can lead to sub mucous
fibrosis (a
state when the sufferer can’t open the mouth and had to live on liquids
only), cancer of mouth and pharynx, leukoplakia (white sores in the
mouth that can lead to cancer), gum recession or peeling back of gums,
bone loss around teeth, abrasion of teeth and bad breath.Thus it is the
delivery system, not the drug, which is responsible for the vast
majority of tobacco-caused disease.
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