In New Delhi, Lok Sabha, last Wednesday passed a bill that proposed the ban of e-cigarettes in India. It was finalized, and together with Union Health Minister, Harsh Vardhan, they call for the prohibition as a pre-emptive action on the future dangers of this addiction.
Harsh Vardhan said that with The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Bill of 2019, the government is taking actions to protect the large population of the youth in the country - mostly the target market of e-cigarette companies. The bill prohibits not only the usage but also the production, import, export, transport, storage, distribution, sale, and advertisement for the electronic cigarettes.
The health minister is defending the government's decision on banning e-cigarettes and opposed the e-cigarette supporters by saying that vaping will do no good for the health of the people and "less damaging does not mean it is not harmful at all" as people claim it is less dangerous than tobacco-based cigarettes.
E-cigarettes are defined as all battery-operated devices that emit aerosol by heating a flavored solution containing nicotine. These include all varieties of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), Heat-Not-Burn Products, e-hookah, and other similar products.
The government felt the immediacy to stop the increasing usage of e-cigarettes and other similar products among youth. It is not easy to ban a product such as tobacco and alcohol from the time it gained the acceptance of many consumers. To keep the same problem with e-cigarettes, they are banning it now while it does not have a vast number of users in the country. And as the bill is already passed, the ban will now be effective.
The absence of a ban on traditional cigarette products cannot be used as a valid reason for not banning a new emerging addiction which most Indians cannot afford. The chemical present in nicotine - one of the major ingredients in e-cigarette - can cause cancer, heart-related diseases, and other brain-related conditions in adolescents. The statutory resolution led by opposition members to contradict the ordinance was overpowered by a voice vote. The House also rejected other amendments filed by opposition members.
Anyone who disobeys these provisions will be punishable with imprisonment of up to one year, or a fine of up to one lakh rupees, or can impose both. For any previous offense, imprisonment of up to three years along with a fine of up to five lakh rupees will be the punishment. The proposed legislation restricts the use of any place or den for the storage of any stock of e-cigarettes and a person storing stock of e-cigarettes, will be imprisoned of up to six months, or be penalized of up to ₹50,000, or both.
Lok Sabha members had a serious argument over the regulation instead of a complete ban on e-cigarettes. Weighing each factors, Harsh Vardhan said that different from traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes do not contain tobacco so the products are not regulated under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003.
During the debate in the lower house, members have asked not punishing the users of ENDS. To answer the question, the health minister said that the government did not want to punish the users because they are just the victims of this new invention. The very purpose of this bill is not to penalize the users of e-cigarettes because it will be more than difficult to achieve. The very idea of this is to make the product unavailable in the stores or market so that it cannot be used by people.