Kazakhstan plan something to chew on

The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) has supported a proposal by Kazakhstan’s health ministry to ban the use of smokeless tobacco products (nasvai, snuff and chewing tobacco) in the Customs Union countries of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, according to a story in The Times of Central Asia.

The Times quoted a Novosti-Kazakhstan report that, oddly, cited the National Coalition “For Kazakhstan Free of Tobacco Smoke.”

The coalition said the EEC had supported the arguments of Kazakhstan’s health ministry concerning the huge social and medical damage caused by the use of such products, and of the necessity of banning them. It added that the use of such tobacco products was causing an increasing incidence of throat, tongue and nasal cancers.

The stance of the Kazakh health ministry is said to have been supported by the health ministries of Russia and Belarus.

The most popular smokeless tobacco product in Kazakhstan and other Central Asia countries is nasvai.

The typical ingredients for nasvai is tobacco dust, gum, slaked lime, water and oil. It also can contain chemical flavorings and colorings.

A pellet is usually placed in the mouth for 10 to 15 minutes.