The members of the Anchalika Jana Adhikara and Surakhya Mancha took out a rally led by its executive president Benudhar Sahoo for raising awareness on ill-effects of tobacco here.
The rally started from Gadasila and culminated at Dhenkanal town where thousands of people, including youths in large numbers, participated by holding placards to ban the harmful product. They said while the Union Territory of Chandigarh has banned tobacco, Kerala banned pan masala and gutkha containing tobacco under the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulation, 2011.
The States which have so far banned gutkha include Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Punjab and Goa. Though Odisha is the 15th State in the country to ban gutkha, but the implementation of the ban is half-hearted, it said.