UP CM Yogi Adityanath bans gutka and pan masala in govt. offices

After issuing orders for the closure of slaughter houses and imposing blanket ban on smuggling of cows, Uttar Pradesh Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has put a ban on the use of pan and tobacco products in schools, colleges, hospitals and other government buildings. He has also prohibited the use of plastic in government offices. Yogi Adityanath was visibly upset when he witnessed betel-juice stained walls of the building which is known as Lal Bahadur Shastri Bhawan and houses the chief minister's office and other senior officers. He has insisted on keeping the office environment clean and healthy and avoid consumption of tobacco and its counterparts. Keeping in harmony with the Swachh Bharat Mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief minister had administered a sanitation pledge to officials a day after he took over as the UP chief minister and asked them to ensure that the pledge is effectively implemented. In September 2016, a bench of Supreme Court judges strengthened the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition & Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, by adding a regulation to ban the sale of all forms of chewable tobacco and nicotine, and directing authorities to strictly enforce its directions. Also Union Budget 2017-2018 has doubled the excise duty on unmanufactured tobacco almost to 8.3 per cent from 4.2 per cent earlier, while that on pan masala has been hiked to 9 per cent from 6 per cent. Tax on tobacco products have been going up continuously from the past few years as the government has become more and more conscious of the need to eradicate its usage.

Consumption of tobacco, gutka, paan and other such products leads to serious health problems. WHO data shows that tobacco usage kills nearly six million people in a year. It is therefore crucial to reduce the level of not only its usage but also its production and sale. By putting a strict ban on tobacco and its products in the state of UP, Yogi Adityanath has set an example for the others to follow. This initiative by him will lead to a better future, a better India.