Manipur govt disallows manufacture, sale of edible tobacco items for 1 year

 The Manipur Government has prohibited the production, storage, distribution, sale, and use of tobacco products within the state.

The Sentinel, 23 Oct 2024, Imphal : The Manipur Government has prohibited the production, storage, distribution, sale, and use of tobacco products within the state.

According to a notification issued by Vineet Joshi, Chief Secretary (Health & FW) and Commissioner of Food Safety, the order prohibits any Gutkha, Pan Masala containing tobacco or nicotine and chewing tobacco products such as Cheap Tobacco, Pure Tobacco, Khaini, and Scented/Flavoured Tobacco. The order was put in place effective immediately and shall remain for one year.

A tobacco/nicotine combination product where tobacco or nicotine in any form is present packaged and sold together or separately in a way that allows for mixing by the consumer has also been banned.

The Commission has undertaken this action under powers available to it by the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, as amended and the rules made thereunder, to protect public health.

The notification highlighted a ban on selling food products containing tobacco and nicotine under regulation 2.3.4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations, 2011, as those ingredients are harmful to health.

Section 3(1)(y) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, defined the term 'ingredient' as any substance, which includes food additives, used to make food and present in the final product.

The notice warns that the products of chewing Gutkha, Pan Masala, and other tobacco or nicotine-containing products, which include Cheap Tobacco, Pure Tobacco, Khaini, Scented/Flavoured Tobacco, etc are injurious to health. And, these products are barred from manufacture, storage, distribution, and sale through the Food Safety and Standards Act, of 2006.

It also refers to a September 23, 2016 judgment of the Supreme Court of India. The court has highlighted how such manufacturers are attempting to circumvent the ban on gutka and such products by selling Pan Masala without tobacco but together with flavored chewing tobacco that is sold in separate packs. They said both are sold together by the same vendors who let consumers mix and consume them- against the spirit of the order banning such items.

It said that instead of selling pre-blended ready-to-consume mixes, companies are selling gutka in two separate packs, which can be mixed by the consumer.

The Supreme Court of India responded to this by passing orders to the concerned authority that provisions of Regulation 2.3.4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales), 2011 are strictly in force. The Supreme Court asked all Health Secretaries of States and Union Territories to enforce the ban on the manufacture and sale of Gutka and Pan Masala containing tobacco or nicotine in toto.

It underlined the fact that, as provided by the law, the Commissioner of Food Safety needs to provide for prohibiting the manufacture, storage, distribution, or sale of any food products that become or are likely to become hazardous to human life, the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, being an act guided by Section 18(1)(a), in the interest of public health.