• Source:JND

Karnataka Gutka Ban: The Karnataka Food Safety Department on Wednesday announced a blanket ban on the sale, purchase, manufacture, storage and distribution of gutka and pan masala containing tobacco and nicotine. The ban will continue for one year across the state, the Food Safety Department said, citing public health concerns.

"Gutkha/Pan masala which contains tobacco and nicotine as an ingredient which are packed in sachets/pouches/package/containers etc., or by whatever name it is called in the entire State of Karnataka for a period of one year with effect from date of notification," the Commissioner of the Food Safety Department said in an order.

"Any other products marketed separately having tobacco or nicotine in the final product by whatever name called, whether packaged or un-packaged and/or sold as one product, or though packaged as separate products, sold or distributed in such a manner to easily facilitate mixing by the consumer," the order added.

FSSAI's Crackdown On Gutka, Pan Masala Packaging 

The ban came days after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) tightened Pan Masala packaging norms, banning plastic-based or plastic-laminated packaging. Under the new rules, permitted materials for Pan Masala packaging include paper, paper board, cellulose or other naturally derived materials.

ALSO READ: FSSAI Bans Pan Masala's Plastic Packaging; Paper, Glass And Tin Among Permitted Materials

"Such material shall be free from any plastic, including but not limited to Polyethylene, Polypropylene, Polyester, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or any synthetic polymers, copolymers, or laminates and also free from Aluminium foil or metallised layers," the FSSAI order stated.

Similar Bans Imposed In Other States

Tobacco-laced Gutka and Pan Masala have seen several bans across different states in the country. Nagaland in June this year imposed a similar ban on gutka and pan masala with nicotine and tobacco for one year.

The ban covers all forms of gutkha, pan masala, flavoured and scented chewable products, as well as any other food items containing tobacco or nicotine. It also applies to packaged and unpackaged products sold separately but intended to be mixed or consumed together by users.

The previous government in Bengal had also banned the sale, purchase, storage and distribution of tobacco- and nicotine-laced gutka and pana masalas across the state for one year in 2024. However, no such announcement has been made by the newly formed BJP government.

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The Supreme Court in 2023 had also withheld a decision of the Madras High Court, quashing the ban on sale, purchase, storage and distribution of tobacco and nicotine-laced gutka and Pan Masala, which was imposed in 2018.

The Haryana government in 2025 also imposed a similar ban. The order by the Food Safety Department cited growing evidence of the serious health hazards associated with these products, which are widely consumed in both urban and rural areas of Haryana.


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