| Summary: | Background and challenges to implementation
Oral cancers
incidence in India is very high, which is attributable to the widespread habit
of chewing tobacco. In 2011, Rule 2.3.4 under Food Safety and Standards Act
(FSSAI), 2006 prohibited the use of tobacco and nicotine as ingredients in any
food product. Though ban has been in
place, there is a lack of evidence regarding enforcement & implementation
on ground level. The objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of
implementation of ban on smokeless
tobacco products in Punjab.
Intervention or response
The present study was conducted in the period of
June 2016 to Dec 2016 in Punjab. In 2012, Commissioner Food and Drug
Administration imposed a ban on Smokeless tobacco (SLT) products in the entire
Punjab State. In 2016, revised notification issued by Commissioner Food and Drug Administration, imposing a complete
ban on Flavored/Scented chewable tobacco. Every month it was mandatory to take
five samples of Flavored/Scented chewable tobacco by the Food Safety Officers
(FSOs). After that samples were tested in the state food lab and court cases were
launched against the failed samples by the Food Safety Officers under FSSAI.
Results and lessons learnt
Total 204 samples
of SLT products were taken by FSO's from June 2016 to December 2016. Out of
which 92 samples failed in lab testing. 32-court case have been launched by Food
Safety Officers against vendors from where these failed samples were collected
under FSSAI
Conclusions and key recommendations
Strict implementation of ban on Smokeless
tobacco products has yielded results in the form of decreased availability. A
national ban should be there to stop the inter-state smuggling of smokeless
tobacco products.
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