mother. Subramanian | Photo Credit: M. Vedan
Tamil Nadu government has decided to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Madras High Court’s recent judgment quashing the 2018 notification by the Food Safety Commissioner banning the manufacture and sale of gutkha and pan masala, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said on Friday.
In a press release, he said that consultations are underway with legal experts as to whether any amendment should be made in the existing Act/Rules or whether a new law should be brought in to ensure the continuance of the ban.
The Commissioner of Food Safety issued successive notifications every year to ban these products in the State under Section 30(2)(a) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Action against vendors and wholesale dealers was intensified.
firm goes to court
The minister said that several firms had approached the High Court against the legal action initiated by the government.
Mr Subramanian said the Madras High Court had held that tobacco falls within the definition of food in the Food Safety and Standards Act, while cigarettes and other tobacco products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) The Act, 2003, was meant to ban advertisement and regulate the use of tobacco products. Both the laws do not provide for a complete ban on tobacco products.
The Minister said that as per an order of the Supreme Court, the Food Safety Commissioners across the country issued ban orders under these rules. He said that gutka, pan masala and other chewable tobacco products are the main cause of oral cancer in the country.