Zeenews Bureau
Jaipur: The Rajasthan cabinet headed by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday cleared a proposal to ban the sale, storage and manufacture of tobacco product ‘Gutkha’ in the state.
Rajasthan has now become the fifth state in the country after Maharashtra, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar to have banned the highly addictive product which is known to have caused serious health problems in the young.
Maharashtra government had gone a step ahead and even banned pan masala in the state. The state government had recently filed a caveat in the Bombay High Court to prevent Gutkha manufacturers from obtaining a stay on its decision.
Other states are also mulling a complete ban on the Gutkha. Recently, Himachal government deferred implementation of its orders to ban Gutkha and other tobacco products till October 2, 2012 after pressure from Gutkha dealers.
Punjab is also close to imposing a similar ban.
