Monday, July 14, 2008

On the trails of the Anti-Gutka Campaign

As Crystal manifested below we had our second education session. This time it was in a government Kannada language high school. The littered gutka wrappers forming a pile at the base of the worn building provided grimacing evidence of this. While a high school, children of all ages walked around a dusty playground. The students however were very enthusiastic and excited to have visitors. They seemed to prize the educational game boards we gave them as many tried to scam us into giving them more. It was clear we were making an impact. I am sure many of you are asking why I came to India and what is this gutka thing I am talking about. Well here is a short write-up that will explain that:
India. A fourth trip. One like never before. A trip where I come to give and not just get. A trip where I am "prepared" for what lies ahead. It is my motherland and the combination of my cultural awareness and education give me the tools to initiate a change. I am a medical student. I understand work ethic and I can and will continue the arduous battle towards perfection. But wait, there’s so much personal sacrifice. Isn’t being a doctor and devoting my life to helping others enough? This is my last summer. Ever. I can choose to do anything, why would I ever choose to give up my amenities and lavish lifestyle in sunny Los Angeles? Gutka.
Gutka is a sweet tobacco product designed in India. It is a white granular substance and when placed in the mouth, morphs into a vermilion red liquid that is spat out. It is more addictive than cigarettes and more dangerous than dip. It comes in a dynamic array of flavors ranging from chocolate to fresh mint but is most popular in a flavor that brings together many spices used in Indian desserts. It was marketed as a fast option to paan, a similar tobacco product rolled in a fresh leaf and eaten as a mouth refresher after meals throughout India. Paan, while dangerous, has been around for centuries. It wasn’t until the late nineties that the gutka market emerged. Much like the overflow of crack into the streets of urban and ethnic neighborhoods in the late 80’s, gutka has torn through the lower socioeconomic classes all over India. It is highly addictive, fairly innocuous (during early use), and marketed as a safer alternative to cigarettes. While gutka is certainly known to be harmful, the extent of its dangers have not been conveyed to most of India. The creators, in search for a successful tobacco product seemed to mimic the recipe used by the discoverers of crack: they mixed every addictive substance they could find, every carcinogen, some glamor, but this time they added taste. It was a recipe for disaster. Some products have been found to cause oral cancer in less than 6 months. Oral cancer is not in the top ten amongst cancer incidence in the United States. In India, it is the most incident cancer amongst males. The trends are alarming in that the problem is getting worse. The scariest thing as that apart from a few large studies and localized action from individual states, there have not been major steps to create awareness of this problem. With a population of a billion, any problem that affects India on such a large scale automatically becomes a problem of the world. I know my impact may be small but with sustainability being my goal and molding our project around the idea that it can be replicable, I know we can begin something. With that in mind, the sacrifice of the last summer of my life and the challenge and excitement of being in my motherland don’t seem so daunting. I’m ready to give and to get.

1 comment:

john michael said...

i understand what you are saying gutkha is one of the worst products ever created i think much worse than cocaine and heroin because with them you can see who is intoxicated and get them the help they need but with gutkha lot of people who chew it dont think anything is wrong with it and the people who know they are chewing dont say anything because of lack of awareness.
to be honest i have been chewing gutkha for the past 11 years but it began with 1 or 2 packets never that extreme. but gradually increased to 7 especially during the study of my usmle board exams. but now i am having throat problems and i quit and found cigarttes to be much more safer alternatives but even this i will slowly taper off.

good luck with your Gutkha campaign i am thinking of doing something similar and at least getting the awareness out to local population who dont know the real dangers of the product it should be banned and Rasiklal Manikchand Dhariwal should be fined and jailed.