13 july 2012 Mumbai: An analysis of smokeless tobacco such as
gutka and paan masala done a few years back showed the shocking
presence of cancer–causing agents such N–nitrosoanabasine and
N–nitrosonornicotine. Heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium and
selenium too were found. The message that health experts give
has been clear for over a decade now: Gutka causes cancer. On
the face of it, the colour sachets of gutka and paan masala cost
Rs 3–10. But experts say the human cost, in terms of suffering
and crores of deaths caused by their consumption, is huge; the
thousands of crores spent on the treatment of diseases caused by
these products outweighs the revenue the government earns from
their sale. "As per the global adult tobacco survey in October
2010, 1.7 crore Maharashtrians above 18 were consuming smokeless
tobacco," said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, a senior doctor with Tata
Memorial Hospital, Parel, who has been in the forefront of the
anti–tobacco ban. If one extrapolates to the World Health
Organization crit