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India
 Children Becoming Addicted to Smokeless Tobacco
As a result of an enticing advertising campaign, the number of young
children in India addicted to gutka, a form of smokeless tobacco, is
growing steadily.
The use of gutka, which is as convenient as chewing gum and as sweet as
candy, has spread through the subcontinent and to South Asians in England.
The substance is similar to the traditional compound
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paan, a sloppy mix of
lime paste, spices, areca nut and tobacco wrapped in a betel leaf. Gutka
is a dried version of paan, minus the betel leaf and sealed in plastic or
foil.
Doctors report an alarming increase in oral cancer among young people.
"High-school and college students are coming in with precancerous
lesions," said Dr. Surendra Shastri, the head of preventive oncology at
Tata Memorial Hospital. "Usage is starting much earlier."
India has 75,000 to 80,000 new cases of oral cancers a year, the world's
highest incidence. Furthermore, 2,000 deaths a day in India are tobacco
related.
"What caused this boom of oral cancers was this packaging of tobacco,"
said Dr. A. K. D'Cruz, the lead head-and-neck surgeon at Tata Memorial
Hospital. "Convenience got them hooked."
To address the gutka problem, the state of Maharashtra has implemented a
five-year ban on the production, sale, transport and possession of the
product. The ban went into effect on Aug. 1. Several other states have
implemented similar bans, but some have been stayed by the courts.
Gutka manufacturers argue that if their product is banned, cigarettes
should also be prohibited.¤
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