New Delhi: The Union Cabinet has given a nod to the ordinance banning e-cigarettes and e-hookahs on Wednesday. Making an announcement Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that e-cigarettes will be banned with immediate effect in India.
The decision to prohibit e-cigarettes will help protect population, especially the youth and children, from the risk of addiction through e-cigarettes and will advance tobacco control efforts. The move will also help in reducing associated economic and disease burden.
Use of e-cigarettes is increasing not only in India but United States also. Sitharaman said that data in the US suggests that there is 77.8 per cent increase in the use of e-cigarettes by high school students. In a matter of four to five years there has been a 900 per cent increase in the use of e-cigarettes in the US.
Why e-cigarettes were banned
- In a white paper, Indian Council of Medical Research said e-cigarettes adversely affect the cardiovascular system, impairs respiratory immune cell function and airways in a way similar to cigarette smoking and is responsible for severe respiratory diseases
- As per Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA), tobacco dust, which is a residue produced while processing chewing and 'bidi' tobacco, is currently used as raw material to manufacture nicotine
- E-cigarettes are usually marketed as being safer alternatives for conventional cigarettes but such notions of safety are false. 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
- Apart from nicotine, e-cigarettes may also be used for delivery of other psychoactive substances. Scientifically proven nicotine replacement therapies, without the risks associated with e-cigarettes, exist in the form of gums, lozenges and patches for those willing to quit tobacco use.
