Recently many states in the nation have introduced the gutka ban to completely eradicate the use of gutka. It was proved that over 40% of the oral cancer cases are associated with chewing gutka. But is the ban on gutka the perfect solution to improve the life of people.
Talking to a few people on the issue we have learned that people consuming gutka have been consuming as many as 10 sachets for the day and they were greatly addicted to the habit of consuming the tobacco product. A suddenly imposed comprehensive ban would force them to take to the black market which would exist inevitably to serve the people for their illegal needs.
Not only resorting to the black market, people will go for the conventional and easily available alternatives such as smoking cigarettes and bidis which could be detrimental to their health more than ever.
It is not just possible to get off the addiction. Suddenly stopping the consumption of the gutka or any other such addiction could be dangerous to fatal too. A person may experience symptoms like intense craving, restlessness, sleeplessness and irritability in case of sudden curbing of the habit.
What could be a possible solution to the problem without the detrimental effects though? The first step after the ban in effect would be a rehabilitation center which also provides counseling that prevents them from a relapse to the addiction.
The problem however is that there are no more than 24 such centers run by the government in the nation and the rest all are run by the private practitioners. The lack of tobacco cessation clinics poses a huge problem. The fees charged by the private organizations would be sky high and definitely out of the reach of most if not all of the gutka consumers.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy which is provided at the camps teaches the addicts to get off tobacco with the help of the nicotine chewing gums.
"Quitting gutka requires determination. We come across so many patients who quit it the moment they or anyone in their family is diagnosed with cancer," a oncologist at AIIMS said. Dr Harit Chaturvedi, an oncologist at Max Hospital, Saket, said cigarettes and paan masalas should also be banned.
However, Delhi government's health secretary Anshu Prakash assured that the government is making all ends meet with the ban taking shape slowly. He has mentioned that there would be several awareness camps that would spread the awareness of the ill-effects of cancer that can be caused by gutkas. He added that the ban was only the first step.
It is estimated that 10 million people in Delhi, including many youngsters, consume gutka. Where the ban scores is that it make the product inaccessible to children who would be prevented from falling into the vice.
(AW- Anil)
