India health ministry ‘wants to ban production, import of e-cigarettes’
INDIA’S health ministry has proposed a ban on the production and import of electronic cigarettes, documents showed, potentially jeopardising the expansion plans of big firms such as Juul Labs and Philip Morris International.
The ministry has proposed that the government issue an executive order banning the devices in the public interest, saying it was needed to ensure e-cigarettes don’t become an “epidemic” among children and young adults.
“E-cigarettes and similar technologies that encourage tobacco use or adversely impact public health are hazardous for an active as well as passive user,” the health ministry said in an internal note that the federal cabinet is expected to consider.
Health officials are proposing jail terms of up to three years, with a penalty of up to 500 000 rupees (R106 517), for repeat offenders against the new rules, according to a draft of the executive order.
First-time offenders would face a prison term of up to one year and a fine of 100 000 rupees.
Such orders are typically issued in India as an emergency measure when parliament is not in session. It can lapse if it is not approved when lawmakers convene again in the next session, which will most likely be held in November.
It was not immediately clear whether the draft executive order will face changes, or when it will be approved.
India’s health ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
The ministry’s plans would deal a blow to US-based Juul Labs, which is hoping to launch its e-cigarette in India and has hired several senior executives in recent months.
Philip Morris also has launch its heat-not-burn device in India.
Advocates for
the plans to smoking
devices
say that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than smoking tobacco, because users do not inhale the same dangerous matter.
But many tobacco-control activists are opposed to e-cigarettes, saying they could lead to nicotine addiction and push people to consume tobacco.
“There is evidence that these products are a gateway to tobacco products and induce adolescents and young adults to nicotine use leading to addiction,” the health ministry said.
India has 106 million adult smokers, second only to China in the world.
More than 900 000 people die each year in the country due to tobacco-related illnesses.
Sixteen state governments in India have prohibited e-cigarettes, but there is as yet no federal legislation to deal with what the health ministry termed the “hazardous product”.
Justifying its call for a ban, the health ministry argued that e-cigarettes can also be used as delivery devices for other substances, such as cannabis.
“These devices are injurious to health and proliferation of these products has a negative impact on public health,” the draft said.
Reuters reported in March that the health ministry had called for Juul’s entry into India to be blocked, saying such products were “addictive and could potentially undermine our tobacco control efforts”. | Reuters