Paan (pan) and paan (pan) masala should be considered tobacco products

Two products indigenous to the Indian subcontinent and popular among South Asians globally - paan and paan masala - are inconsistently categorised as tobacco by researchers, clinicians, program planners and policymakers. This article calls for a universally standard classification of these smokeless...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tobacco control Vol. 24; no. e4; pp. e280 - e284
Main Authors: Mukherjea, Arnab, Modayil, Mary V, Tong, Elisa K
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England BMJ 01.12.2015
Subjects:
Areca
Carcinogens
Humans
India
Plants, Toxic
Smoking
Special communication
Tobacco Industry
Tobacco Use Disorder
Tobacco, Smokeless
India
Global health
Priority/special populations
Non-cigarette tobacco products
Disparities
Surveillance and monitoring
ISSN:0964-4563, 1468-3318, 1468-3318
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Two products indigenous to the Indian subcontinent and popular among South Asians globally - paan and paan masala - are inconsistently categorised as tobacco by researchers, clinicians, program planners and policymakers. This article calls for a universally standard classification of these smokeless carcinogenic products as tobacco products and thus, subject to the same public health and clinical protections applied to other forms of tobacco. This recommendation is guided by scientific evidence strongly indicating the common presence of tobacco in paan and paan masala. Inclusion of these two products in population-level surveillance, clinical screening, as well as public health program planning and policy interventions may have considerable impact on preventing and reducing tobacco-related disparities among South Asians around the world.
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ISSN:0964-4563
1468-3318
1468-3318
DOI:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-051700