Gutka: a major new tobacco hazard in India

What does one do with a newly introduced food product that is industrially manufactured and commercially marketed on a large scale, but has been shown conclusively to cause serious life threatening disease? The solution seems obvious—ban such a product. The process however, can be far more difficult than one would envisage. Gutka in India is one example. It is a generic name for a product that contains tobacco, areca nut, and several other substances in powdered or granulated form and is sold in small aluminum foil sachets. The only known use of this product is that it is put in the mouth and then …