Government of Bihar Bans Sale of Pan Masala
Due to the ill-effects of chewing pan masala, the Bihar government said,”It has decided to ban it in the larger interest of people.”
In a bid to fight against the sale and consumption of gutkha and tobacco, Bihar government on Friday imposed a state-wide ban on pan masala.
The ban on pan masala is on its sale, storage, transport and consumption. Deepak Kumar, Bihar’s chief secretary said,” Anyone found violating the ban will face strict action and may also have to pay fine.
He also said that the state government is coming up with ways on how best to monitor the situation and have an effective plan on checking the sale, storage, transportation and consumption of pan masala.
Twenty samples of pan masala sold under various brand were collected from different districts and tested between June and August in the state government owned laboratory in Agamkuan. Food safety commissioner Sanjay Kumar, who is also principal secretary of health department, said all the samples, having magnesium carbonate in them, have very bad impact on human health.
Due to the ill-effects of chewing pan masala, the Bihar government has said it has decided to ban it in the larger interest of people. Kumar, however, said that the ban will not have any adverse impact on farmers growing tobacco and their best interests have beenṣ taken into consideration.
Brands prohibited
