Guth-KHA
Earlier this year, The Provincial Sindh Government under Qaim Ali Shah imposed a ban on the production and manufacturing of Gutka and Mainpuri. Gutka - a heady form of chewing tobacco made of crushed betel nut, nicotine and laced with thousands of chemicals. Some of the chemicals in some brands of gutka are also used in tile cleaners and battery acids. Gutka everyday is becoming popular among the likes of young and adults. More people in Pakistan smoke but soon the gutka can take its position if no serious action is taken. The step by the Sindh Government included charges of Rs.20,000 and 6 month jail for people who are caught with manufacturing and selling what some might say as 'path to death'. Apparently it has not worked out. The biggest reason i would say is the corruption inside the police department. Most of our policeman are addicted to gutka themselves so they find it easy to settle the drama with the guilty by the famous Bhatta (bribe) policy. On the other hand we have manufacturers who think they live in a democratic nation and not under dictatorship are finding it very easy to produce and supply it to the markets. The profit margin is definitely very high to all the parties involved except the consumer. India has the most number of gutka consumers in the world and a recent study from WHO showed Asia’s third-largest economy battles almost 80,000 new cases of oral cancer yearly. The treatment of tobacco-related diseases cost more than $5 billion in 2002-2003. I do not have figures on Pakistan but i very much do know they are not that far as compared to the size of the population and economy with respect to India. For Pakistan its better to lift the ban because i believe as much as you stop someone from doing it, the person does it more. Let it be open. We do not have the honesty and dedication in our leading departments. People will have it and they will suffer, only then they will realize what a piece of crap they were having. Kha Gutka Kha. !