NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave approval to ban sale, production, import and distribution of
e-cigarettes or electronic cigarettes. Announcing the decision, finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman stated that "the Cabinet decided to ban e-cigarettes and similar products as they pose health risk to people, especially the youth."
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She said "reports say that there are some people who are probably getting into the habit as e-cigarettes seems cool." The finance minister added that "there are more than 400 brands, none of which is manufactured yet in India and they come in over 150 flavours."
Sitharaman also stated that e-cigarettes were becoming an increasing health risk as they were being used as a "style statement", and not as a tobacco cessation product.
More than 9,00,000 people die each year in the country due to tobacco-related illnesses. But India has 106 million adult smokers, second only to China in the world, making it a lucrative market for companies such as Juul and Philip Morris.
The move is similar to what New York and Michigan have already done. New York became the second US state to ban flavored e-cigarettes on Tuesday, following several vaping-linked deaths that have raised fears about a product long promoted as less harmful than smoking.
Michigan was the first US state to declare a ban earlier this month, but that law has yet to be implemented.
United States President Donald Trump's administration announced last week that it would soon ban flavored e-cigarette products to stem a rising tide of youth users.
The step could later be extended to an outright prohibition of vaping if adolescents migrate to tobacco flavors, seen as more legitimate products that help smokers quit their habit, said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates e-cigarettes.
New York's health department found very high levels of vitamin E oil in cannabis cartridges used by dozens of people in the state who had fallen ill after using e-cigarettes. Vitamin E is a commonly used nutritional supplement but is dangerous when inhaled.
San Francisco, the home of market leader Juul Labs, became the first American city to ban e-cigarettes in June last year. The FDA has warned Juul to stop advertising itself as a less harmful alternative to smoking, noting in particular the company's attempts to attract young people.
(With agency inputs)