Patna: Bihar government today announced a ban on the sale of all tobacco products including pan masala, zarda, sugandhit supari, etc.
Cigarettes, however, have been exempted from the ban.
Chief Minister Jitanram Manjhi made this announcement at a public event.
Bihar becomes the 9th state in India to clamp a ban on sale of tobacco products.
More than 50,000 people die of cancer every year in Bihar, while over 80,000 new cancer patients are detected every year, according to figures collated by Mahavir Cancer Sansthan in 2013.
The incidence of cancer in women was 59 per cent, while among males its was 41 per cent in 2012, according to MCS director Dr J K Singh.
The biggest causative factor of cancer in Bihar is tobacco consumption, mainly in the form of raw tobacco called 'Khaini'. Khaini is grown in huge quantity in and around Vaishali, and most of the cancer patients hail from that district, says Dr Singh.
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