Question : Ban on e-cigarettes

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) the reasons for the Government’s decision to ban e-cigarettes;

(b) whether the Government is aware that 70 developed countries in the world regulate the sale of e-cigarettes, if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the Government is aware that the Centre of Disease Control and Prevention in the US and Public Health England in the UK have stated that ecigarettes are less harmful than tobacco and do not lead to vaping, if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government is aware that many tobacco companies have lobbied to ban e-cigarettes as an alternative to tobacco, if so, the details thereof; and

(e) the stand of the Government in this regard?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)
(a) to (c): The Government of India banned e-cigarettes and like devices considering the highly addictive nature of nicotine; initiation of nicotine or addictive substances by non-smokers, especially adolescents and youth; dual use of e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes, scant scientific evidence for use of e-cigarettes as effective tobacco cessation aids; safety concern of flavours in combination with nicotine and other addictive substances; risk of use of other addictive substances through these devices; threat to country’s tobacco control efforts; harmful effects on health and in overall interest of public health as envisaged under Article 47 of the Constitution of India.

As per the Report of Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC), Thailand published in October, 2019, 56 countries regulate the sale of e-cigarettes.

Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), US states that e-cigarette aerosol contains harmful and potentially harmful substances, including nicotine, heavy metals like lead, volatile organic compounds, and cancer-causing agents and the long term health effects of e-cigarettes are not known. The Report of Public Health England regarding e-cigarettes being less harmful than tobacco has been criticized for methodological weakness, quality of peer review and declared conflict of interest, as reported by Lancet.

(d) & (e): No such information is available with this Ministry. The Government decided to ban e-cigarettes in the larger interest of public health.