India is banning all e-cigarettes over fears about youth vaping [View all]
Source: CNN
(CNN) India on Wednesday announced a complete ban on the sale of all e-cigarettes, saying the devices posed a health risk, especially to young people.
"Unfortunately, e-cigarettes got promoted initially as a way in which people can get out of the habit of smoking cigarettes. It was to be a weaning process from using cigarettes," Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Wednesday after a Cabinet meeting.
"The Cabinet rightly thought it is time and we immediately took a decision so that the health of our citizens, of our young, is not thrown to a risk," she added.
Sitharaman said the deaths of seven people in the US following vaping-related sicknesses had added to local concerns about the impact of e-cigarettes on people's health. Hundreds of people are being treated for lung illness in 36 US states and researchers are investigating if those illnesses are related to the use of e-cigarettes.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/18/health/india-e-cigarette-ban-intl/index.html
The ban covers the ban will cover e-cigarette production, manufacturing, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement.
India is the second biggest market for cigarettes and tobacco products. From Wikipedia: There are approximately 120 million smokers in India. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India is home to 12% of the world’s smokers. More than 10 million die each year due to tobacco in India. According to a 2002 WHO estimate, 70% of adult males in India smoke.
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