Two years after the ban on liquor, the Bihar government has planned to ban the sale and consumption of khaini (a processed tobacco product) in the State.
The government has written to the Union Health Ministry to notify khaini as a food product.
Consumption of khaini has been found to be one of the major causes of oral cancer in Bihar.
Speaking to media persons, Health Secretary Sanjay Kumar said khaini was pure tobacco and if the Central government approved the recommendation by the State government, “it will be regulated under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).”
Widespread addiction
The NGO Socio-Economic and Educational Development Society (SEEDS), too, is said to have written to the Union Health Ministry to include khaini as a food product under the FSSAI.
According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey-II, 2016-17, altogether 25.9% of Bihar’s population use tobacco in different forms and 20.4% of them are addicted to khaini .
On May 21, the Bihar government banned the manufacture, sale and distribution of gutkha and pan masala (with tobacco and nicotine) for a year.
