Bihar government bans sale of tobacco products

Zee Media Bureau/Salome Phelamei

Bihar: In a move that would help in containing consumption of tobacco products, the Bihar government on Friday has announced the ban on the sale of some tobacco products such as pan masala, zarda and sugandhit supari in the state.

However, there is no ban on cigarettes, bidis and khaini.

The move will also aid the Central government in fight against the menace of tobacco products that cause serious potential problems including cancer.

The announcement was made by Chief Minister Jitanram Manjhi at a public event.

With this, Bihar became the 9th state in India to impose a ban on sale of tobacco products.

According to a report, the state accounts for over 50, 000 deaths due to cancer every year, whereas more than 80,000 new cancer cases are detected annually owing to huge tobacco consumption.

Meanwhile, as part of the fight against incidence of cancer, the Health Ministry is mulling to tighten laws to check tobacco consumption in the country.

Dr Harsh Vardhan has favoured a complete ban on e-cigarettes and all products described as Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) during his address to global tobacco control experts at the 45th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Barcelona, Spain, in October.