In a major health and wellness initiative, the Indian cabinet on Wednesday approved an ordinance banning the production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of electronic cigarettes. Electronic-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that produce aerosol by heating a solution containing nicotine, which is the addictive substance in combustible cigarettes. These include all forms of electronic nicotine delivery systems, heat not burn products, e-Hookah and the like devices.
“These novel products come with attractive appearances and multiple flavours and their use has increased exponentially and has acquired epidemic proportions in developed countries, especially among youth and children,” an official statement said. Under the ordinance, production, manufacturing, import, export, transport, sale (including online sale), distribution or advertisement (including online advertisement) of e-cigarettes will be a cognizable offence punishable with an imprisonment of up to one year or fine up to Rs one lakh or both for the first offence; and imprisonment of up to three years and fine up to Rs five lakh for a subsequent offence.
Storage of electronic-cigarettes shall also be punishable with an imprisonment up to six months or fine up to Rs 50,000 or both, according to the statement. Owners of existing stocks of e-cigarettes on the date of commencement of the ordinance will have to on their own declare and deposit these stocks with the nearest police station.
The decision to prohibit e-cigarettes will help protect population, especially the youth and children, from the risk of addiction through E-cigarettes, the official statement said. The ordinance against e-cigarettes will complement government's efforts for tobacco control and will help in reduction of tobacco use and reduction in associated economic and disease burden.
Sixteen Indian states and a federally-ruled territory have already banned e-cigarettes in their jurisdictions. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in a recent white paper on the subject, recommended a complete ban on e-cigarettes based on currently available scientific evidence. The WHO has also urged member-countries to take appropriate steps including prohibiting these products which are usually marketed as being safer alternatives to conventional cigarettes even though such notions of safety are false, said the statement.
On the other hand, available literature suggests that these products may act as gateway products to induce non-smokers, especially youth and adolescents, to nicotine-use, leading to addiction and subsequent use of conventional tobacco products. E-cigarettes are usually promoted by the industry as smoking cessation aids but their efficacy and safety as a quitting aid has not yet been established.