West Bengal Government has banned the sale of panmasala and gutkha in the state. The notice issued by the Commissioner of Food Safety, West Bengal prohibited the sale of articles of the aforementioned products containing tobacco and nicotine as ingredients.
Pan and Gutkha banned in West Bengal@MamataOfficial pic.twitter.com/Ov9M0FnFXP
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) October 26, 2021
The notice said, “…in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (i) of sub-section (2) of section 92 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (Central Act 34 of 2006) read with section 26 thereof, prohibits sale of articles of food in which tobacco and/or nicotine are used as ingredients, as they may be injurious to health.”
It also cited section 30 of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 in its decision to prohibit the manufacture, storage, distribution or sale of any article of food in the state for a period of one year.
It also said, “…NOW, THEREFORE, in pursuance of regulation 2.3.4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, the manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of gutkha and panmasala containing tobacco and/ or nicotine as ingredients, by whatsoever name it is available in the market, is hereby prohibited for a period of one year with effect from the 7th day of November, 2021, in the State of West Bengal, in the interest of Public Health.”
