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India: The Government of Tamil Nadu bans e-cigarettes

Following the advisory issued by India’s health ministry earlier this month, saying that e-cigarettes should be banned, the southern state of Tamil Nadu has banned the manufacturing, sale distribution, use and possession of e-cigarettes, citing health hazards.

Diane Caruana

September 17, 2018

Earlier this month, India’s federal health ministry issued an advisory addressed to Indian state Governments, calling for a ban on the sales and imports of electronic cigarettes and heat-not-burn devices. The health ministry said that the devices are a “are a great health risk to the public at large, especially to children, adolescents, pregnant women and women of reproductive age”.

E-cigarettes have already been banned in at least 6 states including Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), and now the Tamil Nadu government has followed suit.

Banning the proven safer alternatives will be detrimental to public health

In line with arguments by health bodies from across the globe such as Public Health England (PHE), the Association of Vapers India (AVI), an organisation that represents e-cigarette users across the country, has spoken up against these measures.

It is ironic that while the government picks on the proven safer alternatives, cigarettes remain widely available.

“ENDS products are being examined across the world for their benefit in harm reduction and as a pathway to smoking cessation. The advisory must be withdrawn immediately…,” noted a release issued by the group earlier this month.

The organization is now taking legal advice on how to approach the judiciary against the order, and has recently submitted research papers to the State Health Administration, to show that e-cigarettes are up to 95% safer than regular cigarettes.

Why ban e-cigs, when cigarettes remain widely available?

Speaking about the ban in Tamil Nadu, the director of the AVI Samrat Chowdhery, once again stated that it is ironic that while the government picks on the proven safer alternatives, cigarettes remain widely available.

“The Tamil Nadu government has hit a new low in anti-people policy by banning use and possession of e-cigarettes along with their sale. Meanwhile, a far more harmful product, cigarette, continues to be sold freely and according to the national GATS-2 survey, the number of smokers in the state are rising, which the government has failed to curb.”

“The state government has overlooked credible and vast evidence on the harm reduction potential of e-cigarettes to impose a ban that will have a negative impact on public health”, added Chowdhery.

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