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"RESULTS I. CONTENTS OF ARTICLES The term 'smokeless tobacco' includes a large variety of commercially or non-commercially available products and mixtures that contain tobacco as the principal constituent and are used either orally (through the mouth) or nasally (through the nose) without combustion (Annexure1 (a)). Oral use of smokeless tobacco is widely prevalent in India and different methods of its consumption include chewing, sucking and applying tobacco preparations to the teeth and gums (Annexure 2). According to the monograph developed by the International Agency for Research in Cancer (lARC) of the World Health Organization (Annexure 1 (a)), the three forms of smokeless tobacco which are commonly used orally include:

116. Learned senior counsel further referred to Chapter 13 of the above- mentioned report titled "Smokeless Tobacco use in the South-East Asia Region" and described the wide variety of smokeless tobacco products that are made and used in this region. Relevant part of Chapter 13 relied upon is reproduced hereunder:

"Types of Products and Patterns of Use This chapter will first describe the wide variety of smokeless tobacco (ST) products that are made and used in this region. Various ST products are chewed, sucked (dipped), applied to the gums and teeth, snuffed, or gargled. Products may be as simple and inexpensive as unmanufactured, loose flakes of tobacco leaves that are sold by weight and may be chewed with only slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) paste, or as complex as a paste made from boiled tobacco and spice flavorings (e.g., kiwam) and sold in small glass bottles. A common way of consuming chewing tobacco in the region is as an ingredient in betel quid. Use of betel quid is an ancient practice. Tobacco was added as an ingredient in the quid beginning around 1600, and it is now used in betel quid in many parts of South-East Asia. Betel quid is composed of pieces of areca nuts (from the Areca catechu palm), betel leaf from the Piper betle L. (Piperaceae) vine, aqueous slaked lime paste (calcium hydroxide, made from roasted limestone or seashells), and other minor ingredients such as catechu (for astringency), cardamom, and clove, according to the taste of the user. Some of these components are agricultural products (e.g., betel leaf, areca nut), and others are simple ingredients that could be cottage industry products (e.g., slaked lime). They are combined by Vendors and users and made into fresh betel quids for immediate consumption. Historically, betel quid has been incorrectly believed to have beneficial medicinal properties. The user who incorporates tobacco into it may not consider tobacco a harmful addition.