Marathi
Gutka- A Silent Killer
By Anitha Varughese, LCSW
Gutka, a form of smokeless tobacco, is a cocktail of tobacco, nicotine, and carcinogens that contains many unhealthy additives such as magnesium carbonate and phenyl ethyl alcohol, along with harmful perfumery compounds including musk ketones and other injurious fragrance compounds (which are known to be dangerous in toiletries). Gutka use is one of the major causes of oral cancer in
India, is one of India.s most serious social problems, and is also popular in Asian communities in the US.
The use of Gutka, which is as convenient as chewing gum and as sweet as candy, has spread through the subcontinent and also to South Asians in England. The substance is similar to the traditional compound paan, a sloppy mix of lime paste, cardamom, fennel, honey, areca nut, and, often though not always, flavored tobacco, all wrapped in a betel leaf. Gutka is a dried version of paan, without the betel leaf, and preserved and perfumed with chemicals and sealed in a plastic or foil pack. It is placed in the cheek lining, savored, and then expelled. It is widely used, but unlike smoking, it is not considered to be taboo or addictive. Many people don.t consider it to be a tobacco product because it is mixed with other spices. Instead, it is commonly viewed as a breath refresher (like chewing gum) and believed to help with digestion.
Additionally, gutka also has a high concentration of nicotine. This is why gutka chewers often become addicted to the product, and thus fall prey to the dual harmful effects of areca nut and tobacco.
Gutka is unique in its dangerous combination of tobacco and areca nut. Areca nut is the fruit of the tree Areca catechu, a palm with a tall slender stem crowned by a tuft of large, elegant leaves. The fruit, which is orange-yellow in color when ripe, grows in large bunches at the base of the leaves, and the seed is separated by removing the fibrous husk. Areca nut, a main ingredient in gutka, is a stimulant and
By Anitha Varughese, LCSW
Gutka, a form of smokeless tobacco, is a cocktail of tobacco, nicotine, and carcinogens that contains many unhealthy additives such as magnesium carbonate and phenyl ethyl alcohol, along with harmful perfumery compounds including musk ketones and other injurious fragrance compounds (which are known to be dangerous in toiletries). Gutka use is one of the major causes of oral cancer in
India, is one of India.s most serious social problems, and is also popular in Asian communities in the US.
The use of Gutka, which is as convenient as chewing gum and as sweet as candy, has spread through the subcontinent and also to South Asians in England. The substance is similar to the traditional compound paan, a sloppy mix of lime paste, cardamom, fennel, honey, areca nut, and, often though not always, flavored tobacco, all wrapped in a betel leaf. Gutka is a dried version of paan, without the betel leaf, and preserved and perfumed with chemicals and sealed in a plastic or foil pack. It is placed in the cheek lining, savored, and then expelled. It is widely used, but unlike smoking, it is not considered to be taboo or addictive. Many people don.t consider it to be a tobacco product because it is mixed with other spices. Instead, it is commonly viewed as a breath refresher (like chewing gum) and believed to help with digestion.
Additionally, gutka also has a high concentration of nicotine. This is why gutka chewers often become addicted to the product, and thus fall prey to the dual harmful effects of areca nut and tobacco.
Gutka is unique in its dangerous combination of tobacco and areca nut. Areca nut is the fruit of the tree Areca catechu, a palm with a tall slender stem crowned by a tuft of large, elegant leaves. The fruit, which is orange-yellow in color when ripe, grows in large bunches at the base of the leaves, and the seed is separated by removing the fibrous husk. Areca nut, a main ingredient in gutka, is a stimulant and