India becoming cancer capital of the world
The Supreme Court expressed concern that till date the government had made no attempt to find out the composition of products inside the sachets and accepted the suggestion of solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam that these would be subjected to stringent scrutiny by an expert team from the National Institute of Public Health.
It said that India was fast becoming the cancer capital of the world,with 70,000 diagnosed cases of mouth cancer in 2008.The consumption of gutka and pan masala by school and college children is a matter of serious concern, it observed.
The order came on an appeal filed by gutka and pan masala manufacturers challenging a Rajasthan high court order banning the use of plastic sachets.The court had also directed all gutka,tobacco and pan masala manufacturers to strictly comply with the provisions of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act,2003,which came into force on February 11,2007.
The Supreme Court had stayed the high court order on September 7,2007.
On Tuesday,it not only vacated the stay,except the part on the imposition of fine on violators,but also expanded the ban to manufacturers across the country.When Subramaniam took pains to clarify that he had brought into focus the health aspect before the government,the bench said he was an exception in the government,which had overlooked serious public health concerns for the sake of revenue.
The bench directed the government to notify within eight weeks the rules framed on plastic waste management.Though the draft Plastic Management and Disposal Rules were framed last year,it said the government had kept it under wraps for more than a year.
The court was unsparing when it found that a matter of such public importance had been listed prior to Tuesday after the stay was granted in September 2007.
This is,of course,a reflection on the functioning of the SC Registry,for the matter was listed for hearing on September 20,2007 and then on July 12 this year, it said.