Tamil Nadu extends ban on Gutkha & Pan Masala

The Tamil Nadu government has added another year to the prohibition on the production, handling, distribution, and sale of chewable food products like Gutkha and Pan masala that include tobacco and nicotine.

The order will be effective as of May 23, according to the Tamil Nadu Commissioner of Food Safety and Drug Administration.

Notably, the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 was what originally put the restriction into effect.

This occurs almost a month after the Madras High Court’s ruling, which had invalidated the 2018 notification banning the sale of gutka, pan masala, and other tobacco products in Tamil Nadu, was stayed by the Supreme Court on April 25.