The government of India has banned e-cigarette products.
The ban went into effect on September 18, 2019, the same day that the government announced its countrywide ban on electronic cigarettes.
In the wake of a government-issued health advisory sent out back in August of 2018, some parts of India enacted their own bans on e-cigs. Later, in May of 2019, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) published a white paper in which it called for a complete ban on e-cigarettes. Falling suit, the Indian government enacted a ban on e-cigarette products earlier this month, which the country’s former Minister of Telecom, IT, Posts, Shipping, and Ports, Milind Deora, called “half-baked” in a tweet the same day that it was announced.
Deora, comparing e-cigarettes to cigarettes, called e-cigarettes “the lesser of two evils” while claiming that India’s newly announced e-cigarette ban “could redirect demand towards tobacco products.”
He then called on India’s government to ban all tobacco products.
India’s e-cigarette ban covers the importation, exportation, production, storage, distribution, and advertising of electronic cigarettes, however, it does not cover their actual use. Subsequently, it is unclear whether the ban, which was approved via executive order, prohibits the use of e-cigarettes and other forms of vaping equipment.
Those found to be in violation of the ban are subject to penalties, including fines and jail terms of up to three years for repeat offenders.
India’s health ministry claims that the ban is in the public’s interest, as it will help ensure that the vaping does not become an “epidemic” among the country’s youth.
In the United Kingdom, the government has taken a much different approach to e-cigarettes. Citing the findings of Public Health England’s latest e-cigarette evidence review, the UK government has endorsed the use of e-cigarettes, recommending that UK smokers switch from cigarettes to e-cigarettes.
According to Public Health England’s e-cigarette review, vaping is likely to be at least 95% less harmful than smoking.