Bhubaneswar: The State Government has imposed a comprehensive ban on the manufacture, sale, storage, distribution, and transportation of all food products containing tobacco or nicotine, citing serious public health concerns and directives from the Supreme Court.
The move follows repeated warnings from global and national health agencies about the dangers of smokeless tobacco. The International Agency for Research on Cancer under the World Health Organization has classified products such as gutkha, zarda, khaini, and other flavoured or scented chewing tobacco as cancer-causing. These products are strongly linked to cancers of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, stomach, pancreas, and kidneys, and are known to cause addiction and severe oral health damage.
Health officials have flagged Odisha as a high-burden state, with the second round of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey showing that over 42% of the state’s adult population consumes smokeless tobacco – nearly double the national average. Authorities have also expressed concern over the growing use of tobacco-laced products among children and young adults, often disguised as food items such as pan masala or areca nut mixes.
The ban is rooted in the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, which clearly prohibit the use of tobacco and nicotine as ingredients in any food product. The Supreme Court, in its 2016 ruling in the Central Arecanut Marketing Corporation case, had criticized manufacturers for bypassing gutkha bans by selling pan masala and flavoured chewing tobacco in separate sachets, often from the same premises, thereby enabling consumers to mix and consume them together. The court had directed all states and Union Territories to strictly enforce Regulation 2.3.4 and ensure total compliance.
Subsequent directions from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) reiterated that even products sold separately – but designed to be mixed – fall under the prohibition. FSSAI has also clarified that tobacco has not been excluded from the definition of “food” under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, strengthening the legal basis for enforcement.
Under the latest notification issued on 21 January 2026, the State Government, has made it clear that the ban applies to all food products containing tobacco or nicotine, whether chewable or otherwise, flavoured or scented, packaged or unpackaged, and regardless of the name under which they are sold. This includes gutkha, pan masala, and any similar products marketed in forms that facilitate easy mixing by consumers.
“The prohibition extends to all food products whether packaged or unpackaged and/ or sold as one product, or though packaged as separate products, sold or distributed in such a manner so as to easily facilitate mixing by the consumer and any other food products containing tobacco and/or nicotine as ingredients, by whatsoever name it is available in the state of Odisha,” the notification read.
Officials said the decision reflects the State’s commitment to safeguarding public health and ensuring strict compliance with Supreme Court orders, adding that enforcement agencies have been directed to take firm action against violators across Odisha. Special drives will be conducted to curb the illegal sale and circulation of banned products, they informed.
