Aftab Ahmed and Aditya Kalra
September 18, 2019
The Age
New Delhi: India banned the production, import and sale of electronic cigarettes on Wednesday, a public health decision that will dash the expansion plans of companies such as Juul Labs and Philip Morris International in the country.
The ban will be imposed through an executive order and will include jail terms of up to three years for offenders.
India’s health ministry, which proposed the ban, had said it was needed to ensure e-cigarettes don’t become an “epidemic” among children and young adults.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in a tweet that possession of e-cigarettes or similar devices will be punishable by up to six months in prison, a fine of 50,000 rupees ($AU1,026) or both.
“Considering the seriousness of the impact of e-cigarettes on the youth, the cabinet has approved an ordinance to ban e-cigarettes,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told a news conference.
Following Govt ban, storage of e-cigarettes & the like devices shall be punishable with an imprisonment of upto 6 months or fine upto Rs 50,000 or both
He also said that e-cigarettes were promoted as a way to get people out of their smoking habits but reports have shown that many are becoming addicted to them.
India has 106 million adult smokers, second only to China in the world, making it a lucrative market for firms making e-cigarettes such as Juul and Philip Morris.
While announcing the ban, Sitharaman showed various types of products to the media, including a pack of Juul e-cigarettes.
Juul had plans to launch its e-cigarette in India and has hired several senior executives in recent months.
Philip Morris also has plans to launch its heat-not-burn smoking device in India, Reuters has reported.
A spokeswoman for Juul in India declined to comment. Philip Morris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The news comes as New York banned flavoured e-cigarettes on Tuesday after its Democratic governor called for emergency action in response to concerns about the rising use among teens and a spate of lung illnesses.
The state’s Public Health and Health Planning Council voted to adopt the ban, which applies to all flavoured e-cigarettes besides menthol, Governor Andrew Cuomo office said in a statement.
New York is the second US state after Michigan to introduce such a ban.
Reuters and AP
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