Old habits die hard. So, while on one hand patrons of gutka strive relentlessly to resist the temptation, given the dearth of their daily fix in the market, the government, as always, believes it has done its job by imposing a ban on the product and has left addicts to fend for themselves. This is best illustrated by the fact that there’s just one government-run tobacco cessation centre in the city that caters to the whole state.

It’s been three months since the official prohibition on paan masala and gutka in the state. Following this, FDA has seized gutka products worth Rs 10 crore. So, authorities have done a fabulous job in ensuring people, and especially kids, don’t easily get their hands on these habit-forming substances. But, as far as setting up measures to help aficionados kick off the deadly dependency, the state has come a cropper. On the other hand, doctors at the only tobacco cessation centre run by the government say such establishments prove useless in these endeavours and habitués need to exercise self-restraint.