Guwahati: On Sunday the Pan Shop Association of Guwahati unanimously decided to completely ban on the sale of Gutka and Zarda in the city.
The decision was taken in view of the harmful effects of nicotine-based chewing products like gutka and zarda which may cause life threatening diseases. The association has put a ban on the distribution and sale of these products.
According to National Cancer Registry Programme, more than 1 lakh people in the state annually die because of cancer and a majority of these deaths are due to excessive use of tobacco.
In Assam, Gutka or popular nicotine based items were banned long time back in the year 2014. Assam was the first state to ban nicotine based items and laid strict measures to deal with the menace.
According to the state government survey, 3.20 lakh packets of tobacco products, including cigarettes and gutka, are sold every day in the state. The youths are more prone to such items.
