The government is faced with a conundrum: whether to ban e-cigarettes under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, or the Poisons Act 1919.
"COTPA doesn't have a provision to ban. Under various sections of the Act, tobacco products can only be regulated. However, there is a provision under the Act to prohibit any item which imitates cigarettes," said a senior health ministry official.
While all of them have banned it under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, some have added the Poisons Act, 1919.
"Nicotine has been declared as a lethal and hazardous substance under the Environment (Protection) Act and Insecticide Act.
Also Read
Earlier, three sub-committees formed to examine the legal, advocacy and health aspects of e-cigarettes had strongly recommended ban on them stating they have cancer- causing properties.
An e-cigarette or an ENDS is a smoking battery-powered device that uses liquid nicotine, propylene glycol, water, glycerin and flavour to produce a sense of smoking a real cigarette for the user.
"Though companies claim that e-cigarettes help give up smoking, but in reality they help initiate cigarette smoking as they deliver nicotine in an attractive way and attract youth," Jha said.
According to a WHO report, e-cigarettes emit nicotine, the addictive component in tobacco products.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content