A recent test on gutka packets by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revealed that most tobacco packets contain the banned toxic chemical magnesium carbonate, the quantity of which is as high as seven per cent.
According to oncologists, magnesium carbonate can cause unusual health risks, which include stomach ulcers, irreparable damage to lining of oral cavity among others.
Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, neck, and head cancer surgeon at Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) said, “Magnesium carbonate can cause numerous complications; these range from hypo-tension, nausea, vomiting, respiratory depression, loss of deep tendon reflex, dilated pupils, altered mental status, and coma. The fact that gutkha causes cancer is already a huge problem and a challenge for us to eradicate, but then the fact that the packet itself causes other complications only adds to our problems.”
Magnesium carbonate is used to keep gutkha in the powdery form, in order to prevent it from getting soggy. However, several manufacturers have been prohibited from using the chemical due to its hazardous effects.