Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state with more than 200 million residents, has started implementing a ban on the sale of gutka. This action follows the Supreme Court’s denial of a tobacco industry petition to stay implementation of the ban.
Altogether, 23 of India’s 28 states and five of seven union territories have now joined the fast-growing movement to ban gutka.
Adding to the momentum, the Indian Supreme Court this week directed the remaining states and territories to implement the gutka ban and to explain why they had not yet complied with previous court orders and national regulations requiring implementation. The high court also directed the states and territories that had already passed orders to implement the ban to file reports on implementation efforts.