Banned pan masala being sold at a premium in Patna

PATNA: The state government has banned consumption and storage of 12 brands of ‘pan masala’ for a year since Friday last, but these are easily available in the market, rather at a premium of Rs1 to 5, depending on the size of the pouch.
“A small pouch of the banned pan masala sold earlier for Rs5 now costs Rs6 or 7. Similarly, bigger packets of Rs25 are being sold for Rs30,” said a pan masala kiosk owner near Gandhi Maidan. He said the prices have been increased by the wholesalers following the government ban on these products.
Another pan masala vendor at Raja Bazar said this was bound to happen. “What will we do with the existing stock. This ban will be in news for a few days and business will be as usual after sometime. The products may be bought on black market from neighbouring Jharkhand,” he said.
Some people think the ban on pan masala will meet a similar fate like prohibition or ban on gutka. Even Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, is rampantly violated in the state, they say.
As per various sections of COTPA, smoking in public place, sale of loose cigarette, selling tobacco products within 100 yards of educational institutions is prohibited, but such norms are rampantly violated.
When told about the gutka and pan masala products being sold on black market, state health department principal secretary Sanjay Kumar said all the district magistrates have been told to ensure the implementation of ban and they were carrying out raids to catch hold of culprits. “Action is being taken gradually,” he said.
Lack of manpower and proper implementing agency is one of the reasons behind violation of such a ban. There are altogether 14 food safety officers in the state. However, as per the norms of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), there should be 125 such officers in Bihar.
Health department additional secretary Kaushal Kishore, who is the nodal officer for food safety programme, conceded the manpower crunch and said requisition has been sent to the state government for hiring more people for effective implementation of such bans. “The department has sent a request to State Technical Service Commission for appointment of food safety officers,” he said.
Three more brands banned:
The state government has banned three more pan masala brands for one year. State health department principal secretary Sanjay Kumar, who is also the food safety commissioner, issued an order regarding ban on the three brands on Monday. These brands are Shikhar, Vimal and Sir Gold. Earlier, 12 other brands were banned in the state on Friday after magnesium carbonate ingredients were found in them.
In his order, Sanjay stated that consumption of magnesium carbonate for years together leads to acute hyper magnesia and cardiac arrest. Socio economic and educational development society (SEEDS) state executive director Deepak Mishra said, “Now the state has covered almost all the brands. Even if a minor one is left out, it will not be spared.”