Despite ban, sale of chewable tobacco products on the rise in Kangra areas

There is a statewide ban on the import, transportation, stocking and sale of chewable tobacco products but the clandestine sale of gutka, khaini, pan masala and other such prohibited products is on the rise in the interstate border areas of Kangra district like Nurpur, Indora, Jawali and Fatehpur subdivisions. No government agency is taking action against the flagrant violation of the ban and to check easy accessibility of the banned products.

These tobacco products are available at some specified shops where consumers can easily procure these at higher prices. The consumers have identified vendors, who sell these banned products clandestinely, and are ready to pay a higher price for them. Labourers and migrants are among the habitual consumers of these products in the area. The government departments concerned have remained mute spectators.

The BJP government headed by PK Dhumal had imposed the ban on the sale of tobacco products in the state in 2012 and and strictly implemented it. But with the passage of time and government change, the ban was violated with impunity. A few years after the ban was imposed, vendors had started selling tobacco products at higher prices and habitual consumers never objected to overcharging. A packet of Rs 10 is being sold for Rs 15 to Rs 20 and that of Rs 5 for Rs 10.

Inquiries reveal that local vendors are procuring these banned tobacco products from Punjab. Medical experts and anti-drug campaigners in the region claim that the consumption of tobacco products are the first route to enter the world of drug addiction as gradually the consumers start having synthetic drugs.

Dr Tushar Saini, who treats drug addicts in the Nurpur Civil Hospital, says that ‘Cool Lip’, a tobacco product, is attracting even schoolchildren who consume it as mouth refresher. These students have now switched to other tobacco products like gutka, khaini and cigarette. “The consumption of chewable tobacco products weakens the mental and physical condition of consumers and they gradually shift to consuming synthetic drugs,” he adds.