The state government is expected to ban the sale, manufacture, storage and distribution of gutkha, paan masala and all forms of chewing tobacco, Health Minister U T Khader informed on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters informally on the Assembly premises, the Minister said, “The issue was taken up with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who has given his assent to enforcing a ban on the sale of gutkha.” He said, “The decision to impose a ban on gutkha, which is a leading cause of cancer, was taken after recommendations by expert groups on the issue.”
Maintaining that the Supreme Court had issued orders to all state governments to impose a ban on the sale of gutkha, the Minister promised alternatives to arecanut farmers, mainly in the hilly districts in the state.The Cancer Patients’ Aid Association, an NGO working in Bangalore, had filed a PIL in the High Court seeking directions to the state government to impose a ban on the sale of gutkha.