Gutka

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Gutka (also spelled gutkha, guttkha, guthka) is a preparation of crushed betel nut, tobacco, and sweet or savory flavorings. It is manufactured in India and exported to a few other countries. A mild stimulant, it is sold across India in small, individual-size packets that cost between 1 and 4 rupees apiece. It is consumed much like chewing tobacco, and like chewing tobacco it is considered responsible for oral cancer and other severe negative health effects.

Used by millions of adults, it is also marketed to children. Some packaging does not mention tobacco as an ingredient, and some brands are pitched as candies - featuring packaging with children's faces and are brightly colored. Some are chocolate-flavored, and some are marketed as breath fresheners.[1]

The gutka, a powdery, granular white substance, is placed between the bottom lip and the gum, or under the tongue. Within moments, the gutka begins to dissolve and turn deep red in color. It imparts upon its user a "buzz" somewhat more intense than that of tobacco.

Highly addictive and a known carcinogen, gutka is currently the subject of much controversy in India. Many states have sought to curb its immense popularity by taxing sales of gutka heavily or by banning it outright.

Gutka use can begin at a very young age. Due to its often sweet taste, easy availability and cheapness, it is popular with poor children, who can exhibit precancerous lesions at a very early age as a result. Some children consider it as a type of candy. Symptoms of cancer often appear by high school or college age. Social custom does not permit children in India to smoke cigarettes, so gutka use, being all but invisible to others, is the method of choice.

After it is consumed, it is generally spat onto a wall or the ground, causing an unsightly red stain that is quite resistant to the elements. Some building owners have taken to combating this unpleasantness by painting murals of gods on their walls, with the idea that gutkha-chewers would not spit on a god.

On 1 August 2002, Maharashtra State took the unusual step of placing a five year ban on all use of gutka (as a potentially hazardous foodstuff), an active black market persisted till the time the High Court of Judicature at Mumbai overturned the order on the grounds of unfair trade practice.

Sources

• Sweet but Deadly Addiction is Seizing the Young in India, The New York Times, 13 August 2002
• Chewing tobacco cancer warning, BBC News, July 26, 1999
• Health: Children Buy Cancerous Sweets, BBC News, March 3, 1999

Activist links

• Anti Gutkha Campaign, Cancer Patients Aid Associationsv:Gutka