The Supreme Court today ordered a ban on the sale of tobacco products like gutkha and pan masala in plastic pouches from March 2011. The Apex court has also asked the government to conduct a survey on the ill effects of these products within eight weeks. A bench of the court also asked it to examine the effects of packaging these products in plastics pouches over human health. The bench also asked the manufacturers to explore and decide by March next year on the alternative material for packaging them.