Beyond Gutka: Evidence of Illegal Smokeless Tobacco in Rural and Semi-Urban Areas in India.

This study is the earliest and that first outside of Mumbai that we are aware of to present evidence of tobacco products being sold above the maximum retail price in India. While finding little evidence of pre-made gutka being sold, we found twin packets (chewing tobacco and spice mixture packets sold together) are widely available even in Maharashtra, which has a policy in place to ban twin packets. This study also finds evidence of SLT products sold without the correct HWL and without a MRP listed which shows that implementation and enforcement of regulations are as important as passing regulations.