Dear Editor,
Thousands of innocent people are dying due to addiction to tobacco and Gutka. However, the government is continuing to dither on raising graphic pictorial warnings on tobacco products. Alarmingly, more than 6,000 lives have been snuffed out since 1st April this year. Small text warnings on packs do not portray the devastating harm of tobacco. The Gutka industry earns Rs 10,000 crore per annum. Cheaply priced and easily available, a Gutka pouch contains a mixture of crushed areca nut (a carcinogen) tobacco, paraffin, lime etc. And Gutka without tobacco is commonly used as a mouth freshener. Then slowly people become addicts and ultimately go to the mouth of death.
Raj Kumar Kapoor
via-e-mail