BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh cancelled licences of seven ‘ gutkha ’ companies and banned its manufacture and sale in the state from April 1. MP is the first state in the country to ban tobacco magnesium carbonate and nicotine-based ‘gutkha’ following provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulation 2011.Health minister and government spokesman Narottam Mishra said gutkha manufacturing licences in the state will not be renewed. “Gutkha makers apply for licence renewal at the beginning of every financial year. This year, we decided not to renew the licences and imposed a ban on both its manufacture and sale,” he said.The move was aimed at checking oral cancer. “Nearly 80,000 new cases of oral cancer are being detected in the country each year, across age groups,” he said.Last month, the state food and drug department informed district collectors and food safety officials about the ban, which is yet to be effective. Three days after the ban, gutkha pouches were found in paan shops across the state on Tuesday. Many shop owners claimed they were selling out remnants of their stock.The Food Safety and Standards Regulation 2011 has provisions for imposing Rs 25,000 fine on anyone selling food products containing substances injurious to health.Speaking to TOI, Food and Drugs department controller Ashwini Roy said, “The ban exists for a long time. Gutkha mixed with tobacco, magnesium carbonate and nicotine was declared injurious to health way back in 2007. It is only now that the state government has taken a decision to enforce the rules.”The state will not punish small-time gutkha sellers, at least, in the initial stages. “We will try to choke the supply lines of the product. So, licences of manufacturing companies have been cancelled,” said Roy.The ban could lead to smuggling of gutkha from neighbouring states. “It will happen. There is a ban in Gujarat on alcohol, but it is smuggled into the state. A similar situation is expected here. But the option was whether to go ahead with the ban in public interest or fear smuggling and let the situation continue, risking the spread of oral cancer,” said Roy.