GUTKA BAN WELCOME, NEEDS TO BE EFFECTIVE

INDIA STATES BAN POPULAR
'GUTKA' CHEWING TOBACCO

http://www.huffingtonpost.com - Ten Indian states have banned a popular form of chewing tobacco in a major policy shift that may save millions of lives and strike a blow at the global tobacco industry, already reeling from new anti-smoking laws around the world. But an estimated 65 million Indians use “gutka” - a heady form of chewing tobacco made of crushed betel nut, nicotine and laced with thousands of chemicals - and furious manufacturers are fighting to have the bans overturned. Companies such as Delhi-based DS Group are dragging states to courts, complaining that the billion-dollar industry should be regulated as tobacco and not as food and that the bans threaten the livelihoods of millions of farmers and street vendors scattered from Bangalore to New Delhi. “Nobody understands the bigger picture. What will happen to those poor farmers? No one thinks of them,” said a company official on condition of anonymity. No company Reuters consulted would speak on record. Last week, Punjab became the tenth of 28 states to ban the sale of gutka after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India reclassified it as a foodstuff, prohibiting the use of tobacco and nicotine as “ingredients in any food product.” 

Gutka making is controlled by family-run Indian firms, with no international tobacco companies in the business. Several other forms of chewing tobacco considered less harmful have not been reclassified as foodstuffs and are not banned. Some 482 million people live in the 10 states which have enforced the bans. Delhi, Gujarat and Chandigarh, with a combined population of 77 million, are due to follow suit - Delhi this week. More Indians, including children, chew gutka than smoke, making the trend of outlawing the cheap, colourful packets a more effective health policy in the world's second most populous nation than anti-smoking laws like Australia's ban on cigarette pack logos. “We're using all kinds of means to persuade the rest (of the states) to enforce the ban. It's a central legislation. States have no option but to abide now,” said Amal Pushp, director of the health ministry's National Tobacco Control Programme. Gutka is popular with the young and old alike, many of whom are blase about the nation's leading cause of oral cancer. Some of the chemicals in some brands of gutka are also used in tile cleaners and battery acids. “This is a path to death,” said Abdul, who sold his land in Bihar to pay for the $9,000 treatment. It will be an uphill battle to keep gutka away from young people who who have been using it since early youth.

Ban on Gutka sale by Indian government came into force this week. Tobacco has been chewed in India for centuries, dating back to the Mughal era when nawabs had a concoction known as “paan” - a betel leaf wrapped around a mixture of areca nut, pastes, spices and tobacco - to refresh their palates and aid digestion. Gutka and paan masala are products of recent decades to cater for a fast-paced, modern life. India battles almost 80,000 new cases of oral cancer yearly. The treatment of tobacco-related diseases cost more than $5 billion in 2002-2003, according to Health Ministry and WHO report. Now, it remains to be seen how well the bans are enforced. Addiction to alcohol, cigarettes and drugs may be resolved by spiritual quests which give birth to the love of God.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

In the Bhagavad-gita, Krsna describes the psychological cycle that supports the perpetuation of addictions. Since Yoga involves controlling one's thoughts, it is a natural remedy. However, the practical action of Yoga must be integrated with knowledge, which includes knowledge of the social, metaphysical, and theological realities surrounding the object of one's attachment. ... The Bhagavad-gita's metaphysics and their social implications are outlined in the concluding six chapters, 13-18. ... The will to transcend one's addiction must involve a willingness to acknowledges one's weakness. This goes straight to the heart of Bhakti, wherein one acknowledges his utter dependence upon God. It is not by asserting one's own willpower that one can succeed. If we are to conquer our addictions, we must acknowledge our weakness. In doing so we will simultaneously realize the power of God. From this fortified position we can succeed and conquer the insatiable enemy of addiction.

Śrīla Bhakti Vedanta Tripurari Mahārāja :
“Kuruksetra War: Myth, History, or Lila?”
Śrī Caitanya Sanga - Vol. III, No. 3 - January 23, 2001.
http://www.swami.org/pages/sanga/1999/1999_3.php
http://swami.org/  -  http://www.swami.org/index.html

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/