India's capital has been suffering from a high number of mouth and throat cancer cases prompting the government to ban all types of chewing tobacco. It includes the sales prohibition, purchase as well as possession leading to imprisonment that takes up to six months and a fine of 300,000 rupees or $4,500.
Almost 90% of all mouth cancers in India are caused by chewable tobacco products. Tobacco producers won a court case against previous bans, however, public awareness regarding the dangers has risen and the New Delhi government has promised to implement the new ban. It was announced last week and was welcomed by health activists as well as doctors, as reported by abc News.
"This is a positive step by the government and we welcome it. The use of chewing tobacco is so widespread that India is often referred to as the oral cancer capital of the world," said G.R. Khatri, president of the South Asia chapter of the World Lung Foundation.
