A pre-existing blanket ban on gutka, pan masala in West Bengal has been extended for another year effective from November 7.
The ban was imposed in state for the first time in 2013 and comes under the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and restrictions on Sales) Regulations 2011, made by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
Under the regulation, manufacture, storage, distribution or sale of any article of food in which tobacco and/or nicotine are used as ingredients, regardless of the names by which these are sold in market, are prohibited in the state for a year.
It is stated in the circular that gutka and pan masala being two such food articles where tobacco and/or nicotine are used as ingredients should be banned in public interest, as these may be injurious to health.
However, many people are not even aware of such an existing ban in the first place, and gukta and pan masala are widely available. Officials said that the police authorities have been reminded of the ban yet again and they hoped it would be implemented.
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