Kerala   

Need for a multi-pronged approach to tackle pan masala hazard Protect the people

A recent survey shows that teenagers, especially students, in Kerala are increasingly getting hooked to tobacco-based `pan masala.' Many students have got addicted to this essentially North Indian habit. The health risks it poses, and the social side-effects it will have are evident. The ban on its use is no more in place. What should the Government do to save students — and also others — from the habit. Our readers respond:

TEMPTATION INDEED: Pan outlets are a common sight. Photo: Mahesh Harilal

Protect the people

Pan masala is gaining in popularity among the people. `Pan' companies have been brilliantly marketing it. Pan masala was thought to be the least dangerous of tobacco products but scientific studies do not support the idea. Pan masala can cause neurosis among its users. So, do we need it? We are proud of our human resources. How can we let our future generations go to seed?

Collective action by the people including awareness programmes and campaigns are necessary to check the use of pan masala. Cultural and social clubs can do much towards eradication of pan masalas from our villages and towns.

The Government should enact new laws to regulate companies that promote the sale of pan masalas. It can also ban such products as they pose a threat to the lives of people.

Mohammed Mustafa

Malappuram

Tight vigil needed

Teenagers, especially students, in the State are increasingly getting addicted to tobacco products. This is to a large extent because of peer pressure and the desire to appear fashionable. Some take to it despite knowing its harmful effects.

Once it become a habit, getting rid of it is not so easy.

The Government should appoint a team in each district to inspect the shops that sell tobacco products and take action against them.

People should also be made aware of its harmful effects. Awareness classes should be conducted for this purpose.

Vidya K. Ravikumar

Palakkad

Ban makes sense

The easiest and most effective way to tackle the problem is to ban the sale of the item. This policy will work better than in the case of say, hard drugs because, preference for such consumption is encouraged more by the marketing of conveniently carried, economic and ready-to-use packaging rather than by force of habit, which is not as severe as in case of consumption of psychotropic drugs.

A drug user or addict if denied supply of drugs could go mad whereas forcing pan masala out of the market may cause no consequence among the users.

Faced with a ban, how many of these `feared' addicts of pan masala will care to hunt for pan and supari to make a mix to match their `taste' and to feed their habit, as happens in the case of drug addicts? The charm of the product and its attraction to its consumers are in the style and means it is dispensed, more than in its content.

Devraj Sambasivan

Alappuzha

Take the initiative

I do believe the role of teachers and parents in society is very crucial in this regard. They need to inculcate sincerity, morality and other values in children. We cannot expect the Government to take every righteous step for our children. The very functioning of the Government is based on money. When A.P.J. Abdul Kalam took charge as the President, he had exhorted all Parliamentarians to be role models for children. But elders, especially when they are politicians, cannot be corrected.

Sujith M.S

Kothamangalam

Protect teenagers

It is important that teenagers be protected against abuse of tobacco-based pan masalas, as the future of India is in their hands. The Government should cancel the licence of shops that sell such products. Seminars and classes should be conducted on their harmful effects.

Divya K. Bhasi

Ernakulam

Stop manufacture

Pan masala is a health hazard and should be banned immediately. There was a ban on use of pan, but nobody cared to enforce it. But with the youth using pan masala increasingly, it is up to the Government to impose a penalty on its manufacture and sale.

P. Sankaranarayanan

Kochi

Book the guilty

The Government, through the police and other authorities, should ensure that no one uses tobacco-based pan masala. Educational institutions should also ban use of pan masala on their premises and strict action should be taken against those who violate the rules. The health hazard caused by pan masala should be advertised and there should be participation from the Government authorities as also the student community.

Sreelakshmi Sankar

Kochi

Ensure compliance

The increase in use of tobacco products such as pan masala among teenagers is alarming. The free availability of such harmful products only exposes the futility of banning them. The law enforcing machinery is lax in ensuring compliance with the court order. Teachers as well as parents have to be very watchful about the behaviour pattern of the teenagers.

Teenagers start using tobacco products mainly for fun and `recognition.' Then they become addicts. Teachers and parents should keep close watch to detect signs of tobacco use. Proper counselling should be given. PTAs should play a proactive role in combating the menace by warning shopkeepers against selling tobacco products. They should not hesitate to initiate legal remedies in case of defiance from shopkeepers and laxity on the part of the police. School authorities should arrange awareness classes. Organisations such as NCC, NSS and Scouts and Guides should reach out to students and dissuade them from using tobacco.

N.K. Vijayan

Kizhakkambalam

Laws not enough

Nearly a third of all cancers can be attributed to use of pan masala. India has one of the highest rates of oral cancer in the world. These rates are steadily increasing and oral cancer is detected more frequently among the youth.

Only recently has the Indian Government begun to act on the seriousness of the situation and initiated a legislative process to combat this social ill. However, if legislation is to be successful it will need to encompass more comprehensive measures beyond the ones in the proposed bill, such as increasing taxes on all tobacco products and closing loopholes in advertising laws. Strong political will and the education of the population, especially the youth, will be required if the tobacco epidemic in India is to be brought under control. While the bill is a big step in controlling tobacco use, its effectiveness depends on additional measures such as increased tax on all tobacco products; control of smuggling; closure of all advertising avenues; and creation of infrastructure for enforcement of laws.

S. Padmanabha Mallya

Kochi

Need for awareness

The problems caused by consumption of pan masala are manifold. These include loss of ability to communicate and poor functioning of the nervous system. Lifelong addiction is another problem.

Pan masala brands have shown amazing growth. Our efforts to discourage the youth from using pan masala have been largely ineffective. Several instances of shocking cases of pan masala-induced health problems have been reported. Yet, more people are getting hooked to the habit.

Strict laws are necessary to arrest the growth of pan masala culture among the youth. Mere statutory warning is not enough. The warning `selling tobacco products to those below 18 is punishable' is displayed at shops. These, however, serve as indirect advertisement that pan masala is available there. No agency is deployed to ensure that pan masala is not sold to those below 18 years.

Pan masala should not be sold in shops near schools. There should be a well-oiled mechanism to examine the ingredients of pan masala and check whether they are within the permissible limit.

Awareness campaigns can do a lot of good. Media can actively take part in such drives. People who have been affected by consumption of pan masala should interact with students to create awareness about its problems. This will help the students get a clear picture of the enormity of pan masala addiction.

Seminars can be effective at the school level if the presentation is done with audio-visual aids. Film shows in rural areas can help spread awareness. Even poster campaign can deter the people from taking to drugs and pan masala.

Renjan C

Thiruvananthapuram

Ban is the solution

The use of tobacco products among the youth is increasing. Health problems are a primary area of concern. Proper awareness may be an effective step to check the problem.

But if the Government is really concerned about the health of people, it should take a decision to ban these products from the market and should introduce strict penalty if the law is not complied with. Measures such as imposing a ban on film sequences that show use of tobacco products are meaningless. Complete ban on the product should be our aim. Awareness programmes laying stress on health problems caused by tobacco consumption should be held. This will be more effective at the school level.

Parvathy T.K

Thiruvananthapuram

Enforce ban

It is shocking to note that a major segment of people who use tobacco products such as pan masala are students. The health problems it causes are many. Pan masala contains carcinogenic elements and other toxic chemicals that cause oral cancer.

The Government can do a lot to prevent students from using tobacco-related products. A complete ban on tobacco and related products such as pan masala near educational institutions must be strictly enforced. Health and awareness classes should be initiated in all educational centres. Posters, advertisements and pamphlets depicting the harmful effects of tobacco consumption can prevent many people from becoming prey to it. Social service agencies also have a role to play.

Shreya A.S

Thiruvananthapuram

Ban sale

There are many students who use pan masala only to enhance their image in the peer group. What begins as fun soon becomes a habit. And though they may claim that they can kick the habit whenever they want, the fact of the matter is that only a few are able to do so.

It is practically impossible to enforce a complete ban on tobacco in our State. But in places where there are schools or colleges or other institutions, a strict ban has to be enforced. Officials have to deployed to monitor the shops near these institutions.

Ashith Shyam

Thiruvananthapuram

Role of mass media

The Government should take certain measures to check the habit. Pan masala companies issue advertisements in different mass media advocating the use of such products. The Government should either ban such advertisement or exercise control over them. The mass media should take it upon itself not to accept such advertisements.

Pan masala advertisements near schools and colleges should be banned. Legal measures can also be taken. Though there are statutory warnings, they are not displayed prominently on the products. Measures have to be taken to ensure that the warning is displayed prominently and is strongly worded so that they have maximum impact.

An intensive anti-pan masala campaign should be undertaken by the Government using different mass media. Also research can be taken up to create an alternative kind of pan masala that produces the same taste and flavour but without its harmful effects.

Rajeev R.C

Thiruvananthapuram

Stop production

A welfare State is not expected to fill its coffers with money from products that harm the health of its people.

The Government must take measures to stop the production of all kinds of narcotic and tobacco substances in a phased manner. Rehabilitation schemes for the employees working in these enterprises must be ensured beforehand.

The next step should be to ban the sale and marketing of narcotic substances. Strict action should be taken against unscrupulous people who target youngsters. Advertisements of these brands appearing in print and electronic media should be banned completely.

The student community should be made aware of the implications of drug abuse. State Governments, NGOs and educational institutions should join hands to organise regular awareness programmes in schools and colleges.

Mohammed Riyaz A.

Thiruvananthapuram

Counter threat

The habit of chewing pan masala not only poses a serious health hazard for the individual, but it poses a problem to society at large. Public places defaced with the red spittle are something we should be ashamed of. Those addicted to this habit are likely to end up with mouth cancer.

With the younger generation picking up the habit, it is time for this threat to be countered at all levels. Governments and NGOs must come out with suitable awareness programme as also restraining measures such as ban on sale of such items near educational institutions. Stringent penal provisions for spitting in public places with or without chewing of pan should be put in place. Advertisements and short visuals should be used for the purpose. Local councils and the Health Department must put up posters and distribute suitable pamphlets on the subject. All sections of society must come forward to contain the problem instead of looking to the Government for action.

Daniel Philip

Thiruvananthapuram

Joint initiative

The increasing use of pan masala among our teenagers, especially students, is alarming. This proves that Government measures alone will not suffice. What should be done is to create greater awareness among teenagers about its hazards. Besides its carcinogenic effect, tobacco-based pan masala also serve as an impetus for youngsters to take to more potent addictives.

A joint initiative involving social workers, parents, teachers and students should be made to curb its use. Outlets that cater to its distribution, especially near educational institutions, should be closed down and stringent measures adopted against its owners. The assistance of the audio, the visual and print media should be sought to popularise slogans against its use. Awareness classes should be conducted regularly and required counselling provided to students already addicted to it.

Lisha E

Thiruvananthapuram

Malappuram

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