The Government of Odisha on 1 January announced a state-wide ban on the manufacture, sale and use of Gutka and chewing tobacco containing nicotine. “I appeal to people to cooperate with the state government to make Odisha a tobacco-free state,” Health and Public Welfare Minister Damodar Rout said. The government has not taken any decision on the use of cigarettes so far.
Meanwhile, a medical college in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh has banned alcohol in college premises following the growing rate of rape cases in the country. The college would soon constitute a cell to put a check on defaulters.