By admin on Fri, 12/10/2010 - 07:01

 This is quite interesting that Honourable court is banning the plastic sachet packaging for Gutkha. Why hit packaging and NOT attach the root cause of tobacco consumption? Tomorrow to stop liquor, glass bottles can be banned? I am personally not convinced this way of reducing tobacco consumption rather I would say that eitehr tobacco cultivation to be stopped or more education, We would also need to look the alternate jobs for the people involved in the trade.

Comments

I think, we should welcome to the apex court decision, if all goes good towards walfare. Packaging business will not be affected.
Sat, 12/11/2010 - 03:00

But we also need to express our concerns, to me it affects packaging more rather thm stopping Gutkha
Sun, 12/12/2010 - 22:00

My perspective says its an opportunity for packaging technologist to accept direct challenge been given by Govt. we all know gutka is highly sensitive product which need utmost protection where as plastic has capability to protect its interest. Now its challenging to work on alternate of plastic so as to serve purpose.
Mon, 12/13/2010 - 21:09
Ashish Katare (not verified)

Its really absurd to compare the Gutkha packets to glass bottles , i hope you know their role in the environment ! Just dont get carried away only because your packaging profession is hampered, think of the adverse effects of plastic packets on our surroundings. Yes, banning tobacco cultivation will definately stop all this issues in the first place but just take a moment and think, is it really possible in India atleast !!!! I would really love if the tobacco is totally banned but you are compromising the cigarette and other related industries too , will those guys allow you to do! Think of the major share of the tobacco export from india and the global comsumption of cigarettes !!! Boy ! just appreciate this decision and for time being get the paper sachets ! Tomorrow the Tree and environment lovers will definately make an issue about the trees being cut down for your paper sachets !!
Mon, 12/13/2010 - 21:53
Ashish Gautam T (not verified)

So, What will be the alternate packaging, paper, foil, or anything else?
Mon, 12/13/2010 - 22:24
Bharat godbole (not verified)

but if we stop one packaging then there would be second packaging option available. Why can't we either stop the cultivation or start a proper strong education like it has started for cigaretets. No smoking in public places, restaurants have really benefitted, Gutka should laso be banned in public places, The people who spit it on roadsides, in building orners etc should be heavily punished. I think this decision with all good intentions is just a band aid action but with no real long term benefits
Tue, 12/14/2010 - 14:54

Plastic Industry is really perturbed about this notification. Govt. should have suggested some alternative. @ Mr. Ashish: Sir do u think we can replace a 3 play laminate for Gutkha with PAPER pack..ofcourse considering the barrier properties required by the product. Also is PAPER  better option....wont we thinking about all deforestation and other environment issues while promoting paper as substitue for every plastic packaging???
Wed, 12/15/2010 - 23:40

One thing I don't understand: Is the decision is to finish plastics packaging or tobacco consumption?  I think governmemt is proposing the reverse development i.e. we should sell the products again in loose, in heaps as happens in many parts where development has not taken place. I think government isproposing A World without Packaging but they should see this You Tube Video before take such decisions, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v7I2HCRPpk   I think convenience is also important
Thu, 12/16/2010 - 10:29

I am not agree with dicision of Honourable court because today we are living in the Plastic era, we can survive without plastic,but  issue of disposal of plastic pouches not only the gutkha but also the food,pharma because it create high volume of SMW.In my perspective problem solve only to create the awareness among the consumers by Packaging itself,media,newspaper.Packaging material may be reuse,recycle,biodegrades,inceniration.In uttarakhand state Government banned the use of Polythene bags because of only that we are (highly qualified/literate/illeterate) using polythene bags as DUSTBIN.
Tue, 12/21/2010 - 14:07

The govt has targeted ghutka to ensure unwholesonme demand, achieve social goal of health improvement , reduce cancer burden and also reduce plastic load in environment. one factor not concidered by anyone is that : - generally people do not throw ghutka packets in dustbin and throw it on road. -all FMCG plastic are picked up by ragpickers for recycling due to large size however ghutka packets are so small that ragpickers do not pick it as they sell collection by weight. - if ghutka industry arranges for collection of thrown packets upto 98 % of respective production volume there may be a chance to improve image. FMCG is sarting to do this for shampoo bottels etc. Not for sachets as yet. The alternatives after sachet ban are multiple and can be discussed with me.
Fri, 12/24/2010 - 04:23
Jenica Swar (not verified)

Thank you, this is the another point that you bring. I think rather than stopping plastics packaging, the government should work on the following: 1. Waste collection 2. Recycling 3. Actions against who throw the packets at wrong places, spit anywhere I think biggest dirty corners of spitting can be seen in government buildings only. Secondly, it would be nice if you could explain more on the alternatives after sachet ban.   Sandeep Goyal
Fri, 12/24/2010 - 23:38

As far as littering and Waste collection is concerned, we can opt for some other ideas like attractive schemes on exchange of empty sachets (e.g.  One free new gutkha pack on the return of 5 – 10 empty sachets).  This can ease the collection of empty gutkha sachets. Madhukar Aggarwal
Wed, 12/29/2010 - 07:12

I have been following this discussion and reading the views by all. The discussion is really interesting. In my view this is the same case as of Crime and Criminal. Who should be punished Crime which is the root cause like Ghutka in this case or the criminals attached to it i.e. the people who cultivate , manufacture, pack or consume Ghutka? Targeting the bottomline of the heriarchy might not be so effective, as discussed by all. Packaging is a very late stage to target. The target should be at the beginning. Why manufacture Ghutka? Is it a staple food? The major concern as highlighted by all is the consumption of Ghutka and not the Plastic Sachets as much. Taking a round about route will not solve the purpose. Instead it will aggrevate the problems manifold. The issue the product and its consumption and not the packaging. There can be numerous ways of handling the packaging waste. The hazards and health problems caused by Ghutka is much more than the plastics and irreversable too. In the same line is the attached news in mail today about the new barcode system to be incorporated to check liquor smuggling to regulate the sale of the country liquor. Again the same concern.... Crime or the Criminal?
Tue, 01/04/2011 - 02:17

Dear Mr. Sandeep Goyal I'm  concern towards  your plastic industries it is known fact that plastic is human created blunder in  the name of innovation so was nuclear.So I want to  know are you commited to progress of India and India should progress using nuclear technolgy rather than clean technologies available. Should India stop distributing free condoms ? and allow populations to increase ? Well I  had respected yout efforts to promote innovations in packaging industries but your personal comment is not relevent with the innovations concepts. I would say to the innovaters and promoters like you ,that this is the oppurtunity accept the challenge and present the sollution. Regards, Pritam Kamath   Regards.
Tue, 01/04/2011 - 09:34

Thank you. Everybody has their own views and I have my own. That is teh reason this discussion. I strongly beleive that banning the packaging is not the option to stop tobacco consumption. We need to educate.  If anything is used positively then its good and if used negatively, its bad. Same is  the case with nucler energy.
Sat, 01/08/2011 - 07:47

If we go into the history of liquor ban in the Unites States, it will be quite evident that, the liquor ban created a huge mafia and resulted in bootlegging. It is unreasonable to ban either gutka or liquor or ciggrates. Playing with packaging is worthless, because alternative packing will actually use more resources that can be used else where. The supreme court must give out fair decisions and not 'blame' any industry ot government. What can actually be done is to have strong control over the quality of gutka or panmasala being distributed in the market. All those panmasla and gutka, ciggratee and liquaor manufactures should be strictly dealt with, that are involved in adulteration. The supreme court should be clear of its motives, 'ban gutka' or 'change packaging'. If a change in packaging is being done to reduce gutka consumption, then just go ahead a ban gutka. If not then, their are many products on which this kind of ban must follow. Rash decisions on part of the supreme court just goes to show the weak system of governance in India. Justice ganguly comparing gutka eaters to curropt politicians, how naïve......!! Words fail me
Mon, 01/10/2011 - 10:04
sandeep agarwal (not verified)

I fully agree with your views that motives have to be clear and then we need to go after those head on.
Mon, 01/10/2011 - 11:27

On more article on guthka packaging change. The manufacturers of gutka, pan masala and tobacco to find a new packaging material in 2 months. read more in the article attached.
Tue, 02/08/2011 - 00:38

decision out, summary by Sriman Banerjee, In synopsis :   1)      Plastic Laminate sachets have been banned for Gutka, Pan Masala & Tobacco. Refer 5(d) of notification. 2)      All laminate manufacturers need to register themselves with State pollution Board and the registration number along with their address need to be printed on the laminate. 3)      All Plastic packaging needs to have the recycling Logo as applicable. 4)      Packaging material manufacturers & end users need to support States in setting up re-cycling facility. More details at http://packagingconnections.com/plastic-waste-management-and-handling-rules-2011.htm
Tue, 02/08/2011 - 01:53

question here whether banning plastic pouches, tobacco problems be eliminated? I think its critical that wehave a re-look at the approach.
Wed, 02/09/2011 - 21:46

banning plastic is not the sollution ........biggest and foremost crime is to make people unemployed if at all supreme court had to ban it ..it should have come out with alternative and handled over to the industry....think about lakhs of people being unemployed......sad
Thu, 02/10/2011 - 08:29

I think in the following way:- a) Tobacco and Liquor products are all health hazards . Govt must try more social and collective ways to restrict consumption rather targeting plastics and any other packaging. We are a democratic country and only social means can help to reduce the consumption of these items, rather than going around b) Packaging is a way for conveninence, preserving, transportation, security and safety of the product inside. Glass, paper or plastic is more of a techno-commercial evaluation of the need for the product. Today plastic has increased becasue of its techno-comemrcial advantage over the other packaging material. No one can ignore or by-pass this if one has to progress economically. Can u think of buying biscuits for the shop in open condition. THINK and you will rather not. c) Yes, with plastics comes certain environmental issues which can be handled more practically and in collective way of public-private partnership. These packagings needs to be recycled. The efforts should be more towards achieving the same rather shying and imposing such bans. You see the examples of PET bottles, it is a same polymer , but it is being re-cycled in a huge way and is a successful venture. Paper has also its own environmental issues. For information of all, we still lag behind hugely in  in per capita consumption of plastic consumption comapred to China or developed nations.
Fri, 02/11/2011 - 05:03
sumant singhal (not verified)

I think instead of blaming to high court, we have to think alternative for survival of the packaging industry. we have to accept this challenge after all we are working in this field since last so many years. we can definately do that.
Sat, 02/12/2011 - 04:18

The question is not blaming the court as Supreme court is supreme and as a citizen of India, I fully respect that. But at the same time, India also gives me the right to express myself. I have no objection to banning tobacco products or Guthka but why Guthka only in small packets, if this is seen as the serious concern then Guthka should be fully banned and so the Addas that we have in all over Haryana. You walk to any street in Gurgaon, and you will see big Addas saying Government approved drinking place: you walk inside and then you will realise that how people who earn so less, blowing money inside. So one side, government allows more & more drinking places to be opened, on the otherside, they just want to stop other product but that too indirectly. It to me is controversial. If we find any alternative means of packaging then the issue of banning Gutkha is not resolved. If we find an alternative way to pack Gutkha in small portions then it means we are basically challenging the intentions of ban, and helping the nuisance to spread. So I am not for alternative solutions but for the education to stop consumption of Gutha, higher taxes etc on Gutkha products like cigarettes etc.
Sat, 02/12/2011 - 08:05

Why are so many people connecting the Government's step to ban plastic packaging to pan masala/gutkha being harmful for health. True, but so is liquor and so are so many other things. And that is left on the discretion of the consumer to use or not use it. Plastic is something which is not eco friendly and therefore is the Govt. has a right to ban it, cannot be left at people's discretion. As far as packaging is concerned, paper sachets is always an alternative. Even today a lot of big gutkha manufacturers in small towns are using paper sachets. Many of the current big gutkha manufacturers were using paper sachets in place of plastic 10-15 years back. So the options are always there, given someone wants to take them.
Mon, 02/21/2011 - 01:28
Neelesh Goyal (not verified)

Update on this verdict ;New Delhi: In a setback to chewing tobacco manufacturers, the Supreme Court on Thursday declined to extend the March 1 deadline banning the marketing of tobacco products in plastic sachets. An apex court bench of Justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly, however, said the central government's rules prohibiting the plastic packaging, which was to come into force with immediate effect, will now be kept on hold till March 1. The government had notified the said rules Feb 4 this year. However, the court by its Dec 7, 2010 order had said the ban of plastic sachets will come into force from March 1, 2011. 2. The apex court also issued notice to the government and other parties, including NGOs seeking a ban on a petition by the chewing tobacco manufactures challenging the rules prohibiting the use of plastic sachets for packaging chewing tobacco or gutkha. 3. The matter will come up for hearing April 13. 4. A study carried by National Institute of Public Health on the directions of the court revealed that 86 percent of the world's oral cancer occur in India and 90 percent of those cancers are passed due to chewing tobacco. In another shocking revelation, it said 24 percent of school going children were already addicted to chewing tobacco
Mon, 02/21/2011 - 05:09

Thank you Chhavi, this is quite revealing facts and of course, the decision is for the right reasons but there are other side effects also. So i think Apex court also needs to look into those aspects, what about numerous liquor shops in Gurgaon, is there any NGO looking forward to study the adverse impacts of those addas in arms throw
Mon, 02/21/2011 - 05:18

Dear  All,  It is good that ban on Gutka process is going on. But to ban on plastic to pack gutka is the only way? then what about others food items  which is directly packed with plastics. Being a printing & packaging professional I am sure  very soon we will get the other alternative packing materials to pack Gutka, then how to ban gutka?
Wed, 02/23/2011 - 08:49
MUKUL (not verified)

Now I hear that people are working on foil paper/foil based laminate structures to work around the ruling. This had started creating a serious shortfall of foil in the market. This means pharmaceutical industries will suffer to get the foil. Foil is a critical packaging material for pharmaceuticals and I am sure foil suppliers would like to make the more money by way of supplying to Gutkha companies. Its the tough situation now. May be Supreme court would come out with some other innovative solutions,
Fri, 02/25/2011 - 22:19

smoking effects passive smokers why not ban cigarettes  not possible (strong tobacco lobby)   judges,babus smoke
Sat, 02/26/2011 - 04:38
sunny (not verified)

Dear  All, Can you please suggest some kind of laminate to pack Gutkha, I tried with Paper/Foil/Vmch  & Paper/Foil/Hot melt, both are failure, I need a Very good sealing and to keep a aroma of gutkha inside intact, where as with a hotmelt combination I tried with 8/10 gsm coating also 15/18 gsm coating but sealing was not proper with a temp of 150/170. Odour problems is not there only sealing is the main problems.  Oppositely, in the spec of Vmch combiation 5/6 gsm coating is a good enough to get proper sealing with a same temp, but after opening the pouches I am getting a strong odour of solvent, as a True solvent I used Tol/Mek combiation to mix the Vmch powder.  Both the case it is getting punctured in some places after packing as supari is available in a odd shape. CAN ANYBODY SUGGEST A SOLID SOLUTION FOR THIS. Please mail me at iammukul@ymail.com    M U K U L
Mon, 02/28/2011 - 07:37
Mukul (not verified)

While I do not have any answer for alternate laminate, but I think anything based on foil would be  disaster from supply point of view. Successful use of foil would create problems for pharma foil availablity an dthen I am sure government would jump again to ban foil based laminates. So the other way would be use small injection moulded containers or comosite containers wit a very small foot print. One could also try PET tubes which could give good aroma barrier thogh used mainly for pharma vitamin shots
Mon, 02/28/2011 - 08:15

it will affect  employment one percent of the total population. government should provide other alternative before ban on tobacco products.
Sat, 03/05/2011 - 05:17
amit (not verified)

Dear All,     Can you please get me the link to buy Cellophane PT/ MXXT/ MSADT.    M U K U L
Thu, 03/10/2011 - 08:12
Mukul (not verified)

Dear All, What in your opinion should be the impact on converters for FMCG due to a huge amount of capacity being freed with the Gutka converters. Surely, to fill up existing capacity, the small converters will approach FMCG playes for packaging Solutions at lower prices. Which shall have an adverse effect on the existing business of FMCG converters. Any thoughts on this? Regards - Pratik
Wed, 03/16/2011 - 01:16
Pratik (not verified)

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE HI /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Mangal; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Hello, we have developed a biodegradable (not harmful to the environment) film for Gutkha packaging.   Films are available in all sizes in the form of roll, and can easily run on your existing machines.   The film is available at a very reasonable price.   Don't use plastics for Gutkha, switch to bio-films   Contact:9099067758
Sat, 06/11/2011 - 06:20
Swapnil Agarwal (not verified)

For the first time, we have developed a biodegradable and environment friendly alternative to conventional flexible packaging.Our material is FDA compliant and meets the required standards of Food & Beverage Industry.It has excellent moisture barrier properties.It does not allow the odour to escape. e-mail:gajinder@roidec.com
Fri, 06/17/2011 - 03:24
GSBhogal (not verified)