The Haryana government has prohibited manufacture, storage, sale and distribution of gutkha and paan masala containing tobacco or nicotine as ingredients. The ban came into effect from Wednesday. The order has been issued in public health interest for one year, Commissioner of Food Safety, Haryana, Rakesh Gupta said here.

The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, enacted by the Centre, prohibits the sale and manufacture of products which are injurious to health, Gupta said. He said under the Act, any person who manufactures for sale, stores, sells, distributes or imports any food which is unsafe, shall be punished.

Meanwhile, speaking at Junagadh in Gujarat,

Chief Minister Narendra Modi said gutkha will be banned in the state from September 11.

"I have to save the youths of Gujarat from the dreaded evil of cancer and that's why a decision to impose a complete ban on gutkha has been taken," Modi said in his Independence Day speech.

The comprehensive ban on sale, stocking, production and distribution of the product shall come into effect from September 11, he said