E-cigarettes set to be banned in India
NEW DELHI: Parliament on Monday passed a Bill which seeks to prohibit the production, trade, transport, storage and advertisement of electronic cigarettes in the country.
The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Bill, 2019, was passed in Rajya Sabha with a voice vote. It was passed in Lok Sabha earlier this month.
The government had issued an ordinance to ban e-cigarettes in September this year. The new law would replace the ordinance. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the government has brought in the bill in order to control the problem at the onset before it becomes too big to handle.
“All my life, I have fought against tobacco lobby. You (members) should not have any suspicion about our intentions. We want to nip this problem in the bud,” Vardhan said in the Rajya Sabha while replying to various queries of the opposition members.
Once the consumer base of a product becomes big, like in the case of regular tobacco products and alcohol, it is not easy to control the situation, he added.
Vardhan said it was important to bring in the ordinance in September this year as big companies were gearing up to launch their products in the country. “…We are not guided by tobacco companies. We have brought this Bill with most sincere and pious intentions,” he added.
During the debate on the Bill, some members expressed apprehensions that the government had brought this Bill under pressure from tobacco lobby and demanded the ban be extended to raw tobacco and conventional cigarettes.
The Bill provides for imprisonment of up to one year, or a fine of up to one lakh rupees, or both to a first-time violator.
For any subsequent offence, it says that the crime will be punishable with an imprisonment of up to three years, along with a fine of up to five lakh rupees.