Ban on e-cigarettes: Vardhan says ordinance route taken to nip problem in bud
Bringing an ordinance to ban e-cigarettes was an urgency as vaping was turning into an epidemic amongst the youth and allowing such products would have seriously undermined the government's tobacco control efforts, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said.
Voicing confidence that the ban on e-cigarettes will be highly effective as the consumer base is small at present, he said taking the ordinance route was an approach to nip the problem in the bud.
On September 18, the government issued an ordinance making the manufacturing, production, import, export, distribution, transport, sale, storage or advertisements of such alternative smoking devices a cognizable offence, attracting jail term and fine.
"The success of ban depends upon the size of consumer base. Larger the size, lesser is the success rate of a ban...e-cigarettes have a small consumer base and bans will be highly effective," the minister told PTI in an exclusive interview.
Only 4 per cent of population in India smokes ...