The union health ministry has proposed a ban on the production and import of electronic cigarettes to India.
E-cigarettes have become quite popular in the Northeast along with the rest of the country.
Also read: Call to ban e-cigarettes in Assam; legal forum writes to Sarbananda, Himanta
There is a slow but gradual increase in the use of electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes in some NE states, revealed a latest Global Adult Tobacco Survey.
This has been done to ensure that the health of the people of the country is not affected.
Also read: E-cigarette use is on the rise in Northeast
As per a Reuters report, the health ministry has issued a notice that e-cigarettes and similar technologies that encourage tobacco use or adversely impact public health are hazardous for an active as well as passive user.
Moreover, the health ministry is also proposing that those who are found to be violating the rules of the ban of e-cigarettes for the first time might have to face a jail term of one year and a fine of Rs one lakh.
However, repeat offenders of the rules might have to face a jail term of three years and a fine of Rs five lakh.
The health ministry had written in the notice that there is evidence that e-cigarettes are a gateway to tobacco products and induce adolescents and young adults to nicotine use leading to addiction.
India has over 100 million adult smokers and many people die every year in the country after consuming tobacco products.
The order as proposed by the health ministry are generally issued in India as an emergency measure when parliament is not in session but implementation of these proposals will depend according to the outcome when discussed in the next session of the parliament .
If the ban on the production and import of electronic cigarettes to India is implemented, e-cigarette manufacturing giants like Juul Labs and Philip Morris International may face a big loss who were planning to launch their e-cigarettes in India.