Gutka is the leading cause of oral cancer in the country. The authorities recognize this and have imposed restrictions on gutka brands, including a ban on direct advertising.
But a recent study shows that tobacco companies manufacturing gutka have effectively evaded the ban through surrogate advertising that their targeted consumers relate to clearly.
The study, by the NGO Salaam Bombay Foundation , found that gutka has been widely marketed as pan masala, a non-tobacco product, to get around the direct advertising ban imposed in 2004.
The NGO surveyed 1,500 children in the age group 12-18 and an equal number of adults in the age group 19-50 from Lalbaug, Khetwadi, Ghatkopar, Andheri, Malad and Vashi.
The respondents were shown flashcards of three pan masala brands and asked to mention what they associated with them.
An overwhelming majority-2 % of the children and 84% of the adultssaid the products were gutka and not pan masala as advertised . The study showed that the association of a particular brand with gutka was the highest among the children.
"It clearly shows that the brand is successful in indirectly promoting its product with children ," said Devika Chadha, programme director, Salaam Bombay Foundation.
She explained how the growth of the pan masala industry was slow in the 1970s, when tobacco was not part of the concoction.
But the industry grew by leaps and bounds a decade later when gutka, which contains tobacco, was introduced . The portability of the sachets added to their appeal, as did the concept of low cost of small purchases.
She said that during major festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, the city was flooded with surrogate advertisements on buses, and at bus stops and pandals.
"The result of our study clearly proves that tobacco companies are promoting gutka through strategic surrogate advertisement."
That the advertisements are surrogate is proved by the fact that many of the products advertised as pan masala are never available in the market, said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi , head and neck surgeon , Tata Memorial Hospital .
"Consumers are invariably given tobacco products and many of them buy them thinking they do not contain tobacco."
The surrogate advertising continues without much interference from the authorities .
But minister of state for home Satej Patil said his department was coordinating with the school education department to start a fresh anti-tobacco drive outside schools and colleges.
ESCAPING DUTY
The revenue from cigarettes is 80-85 % of excise collected from the tobacco industry and amounts to about Rs 8,500 crore. Until two years ago, non-filter cigarettes comprised 30% of the total cigarette consumption.
But with an increase in excise duty on non-filter cigarettes from Rs 168 to Rs 819 per thousand from March 1, 2008, the demand for low-priced filter cigarettes has risen. At present, the excise duty on a pack of 10 filter cigarettes is Rs 8.19, and VAT Rs 1.05.
Thus, taxes total Rs 10 per pack. Illicit cigarettes are sold for less than this amount, leading the government to believe that either registered cigarette units are evading duty or foreign-made cigarettes are flooding the market from Myanmar and the UK.
The business of low-cost cigarettes is big in the country, especially in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab
But a recent study shows that tobacco companies manufacturing gutka have effectively evaded the ban through surrogate advertising that their targeted consumers relate to clearly.
The study, by the NGO Salaam Bombay Foundation , found that gutka has been widely marketed as pan masala, a non-tobacco product, to get around the direct advertising ban imposed in 2004.
The NGO surveyed 1,500 children in the age group 12-18 and an equal number of adults in the age group 19-50 from Lalbaug, Khetwadi, Ghatkopar, Andheri, Malad and Vashi.
The respondents were shown flashcards of three pan masala brands and asked to mention what they associated with them.
An overwhelming majority-2 % of the children and 84% of the adultssaid the products were gutka and not pan masala as advertised . The study showed that the association of a particular brand with gutka was the highest among the children.
"It clearly shows that the brand is successful in indirectly promoting its product with children ," said Devika Chadha, programme director, Salaam Bombay Foundation.
She explained how the growth of the pan masala industry was slow in the 1970s, when tobacco was not part of the concoction.
But the industry grew by leaps and bounds a decade later when gutka, which contains tobacco, was introduced . The portability of the sachets added to their appeal, as did the concept of low cost of small purchases.
She said that during major festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, the city was flooded with surrogate advertisements on buses, and at bus stops and pandals.
"The result of our study clearly proves that tobacco companies are promoting gutka through strategic surrogate advertisement."
That the advertisements are surrogate is proved by the fact that many of the products advertised as pan masala are never available in the market, said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi , head and neck surgeon , Tata Memorial Hospital .
"Consumers are invariably given tobacco products and many of them buy them thinking they do not contain tobacco."
The surrogate advertising continues without much interference from the authorities .
But minister of state for home Satej Patil said his department was coordinating with the school education department to start a fresh anti-tobacco drive outside schools and colleges.
ESCAPING DUTY
The revenue from cigarettes is 80-85 % of excise collected from the tobacco industry and amounts to about Rs 8,500 crore. Until two years ago, non-filter cigarettes comprised 30% of the total cigarette consumption.
But with an increase in excise duty on non-filter cigarettes from Rs 168 to Rs 819 per thousand from March 1, 2008, the demand for low-priced filter cigarettes has risen. At present, the excise duty on a pack of 10 filter cigarettes is Rs 8.19, and VAT Rs 1.05.
Thus, taxes total Rs 10 per pack. Illicit cigarettes are sold for less than this amount, leading the government to believe that either registered cigarette units are evading duty or foreign-made cigarettes are flooding the market from Myanmar and the UK.
The business of low-cost cigarettes is big in the country, especially in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab
1 comment:
they are now marketing the ghutka products as mouth freshner
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