Uttarakhand reimposes one year ban on Gutkha, tobacco based products – myuttarakhandnews.com | Uttarakhand News in English | Dehradun News Today| News Uttarakhand | Uttarakhand latest news

PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun The Uttarakhand government has imposed a fresh one year prohibition on the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of food products containing tobacco and nicotine, reviving a restriction that was enforced during the tenure of former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna in 2013. The latest order was issued by Food Safety and Drug Administration commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey on October 13. It covers Gutkha and other food products containing tobacco or nicotine, irrespective of the name under which they are sold. The order invokes the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and Regulation 2.3.4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011. The regulation states that tobacco and nicotine cannot be used as ingredients in food products. The State had introduced a similar restriction in 2012, when Bahuguna was CM. Following a cabinet decision, the ban was enforced from January 1, 2013. The latest order is therefore not the first such prohibition in Uttarakhand. It reflects the state’s continued use of food safety provisions to restrict products containing tobacco and nicotine. The commissioner stated in the order that Gutkha and pan masala containing tobacco and nicotine pose public health concerns. Under Section 30(2) of the 2006 Act, the state food safety commissioner can prohibit the manufacture, storage, distribution or sale of food products across the state for up to one year in the interest of public health. It will be recalled that such a “ban” had been imposed in the past too though it provided enterprises to export loopholes and earn much more.