<ul><li>Eight months since, despite the ban, people are able to buy e-cigarettes from any paan shop. If not, they can always go on the internet and buy them. </li><li>However, since formal players like Juul or Vape are kicked out of the country, what these young vapers find are products imported from other countries like China — making it cheaper. </li><li>Such products don’t have quality standards. </li></ul>Rahul (name changed), a 15 year old boy wanted to try smoking but he was afraid it would damage his lungs. So he thought of giving e-cigarettes and vaping a try. But there was a slight problem — India had just banned the sale of e-cigarettes to protect the health of thousands of others like him. He called his best friend Sonu (name changed), also 15, who assured him getting e-cigarettes or any vaping devices is no “big a deal” and the ban “doesn’t matter”.He gave at least three suggestions of places where Rahul can find e-cigarettes easily. <div type="image" title="Capture XXX" msid="76093639" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;One of the most commonly used vaping devices in India. &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Teenagers like Rahul and Sonu were the reasons why India imposed a ban on e-cigarettes in September last year. Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s finance minister who announced the ban, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/18/health/india-e-cigarette-ban-intl/index.html">said</a> “we immediately took a decision so that the health of our citizens, of our young, is not thrown to a risk.” Eight months since, despite the ban, people are able to buy e-cigarettes from any paan shop. If not, they can always go on the internet and buy them. However, since formal players like Juul or Vape are kicked out of the country, what these young vapers find are products imported from other countries like China — making it cheaper. Such products don’t have quality standards. Usually, anybody can buy an e-cigarettes between ₹50 and ₹700. Whereas, a vaping device is slightly costlier and can foot a bill of ₹600 and can go as high as ₹6,000. A 23-year old seller, who spoke to Business Insider on the condition of anonymity, says he buys his stock from Mumbai and sells it on Instagram. He usually uses the standard Indian postal services to courier the order to his customers. <div type="image" title="Capture XX" msid="76093540" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;A screenshot of an Instagram page selling vaping device. &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>“I have been in the business for three years now. The only thing that the ban has changed is branded products are out of the market. I can still sell chinese products which I usually buy from a black market in Mumbai.” Several countries which banned e-cigarettes including Mexico, Brazil and Thailand saw a booming black market — making it difficult for the government to regulate the sale of these products, according to Samrat Chowdhery, Association of Vapers India. “It is difficult to enforce regulations as Nicotine is available in all other forms. Formal players making e cigarettes are exiting the market. Once black market industry gains a footover, it will be impossible to get control over it. The government missed a golden opportunity to regulate these products,” he told Business Insider. <div type="image" title="As part of nationwidw protest many volunteers under the aegis of Association of Vapers India (AVI) gathered at Freedom park in Bengaluru to protest the ban on E-Cigarettes on Saturday 28th September 2019." msid="76093787" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;As part of nationwidw protest many volunteers under the aegis of Association of Vapers India (AVI) gathered at Freedom park in Bengaluru to protest the ban on E-Cigarettes on Saturday 28th September 2019.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Chowdhery has been pressing to develop a formal market for e-cigarettes ever since it was banned. He believes a formal market can build protection for kids and can monitor sales at certain age levels. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/in-meerut-india-monkeys-snatch-coronavirus-tests-locals-fear-transmission/articleshow/76090064.cms">Watch the bizarre video of monkeys who snatched blood samples of COVID-19 patients in India — locals fear transmission</a>

India's e-cigarettes ban hasn't stopped vaping⁠ — it only drove out Juul and Vape

<ul><li><keyword id="506858" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shamika-Ravi">Shamika Ravi</keyword>, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Council, said the decision didn’t have health or fiscal grounds. </li><li>Finance Minister <keyword id="129243" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Sitharaman">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> had announced the total ban on e-cigarettes in India. </li><li>However, India is not alone, globally flavoured e-cigarettes have been facing a ban.</li></ul>The Indian government’s decision to ban e-cigarettes has brought out a very obvious question from others, “why not ban or tax cigarettes?” But the surprise came when one of the members from the Prime Minister’s Economic Council Shamika Ravi too questioned the move. She took to Twitter to ask why was there a ban placed on e-cigarettes when the government could have taxed it heavily. 
	<div type="twitter" handle="ShamikaRavi" handlename="Shamika Ravi" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/466900364520747008/SgCWyFu9_normal.jpeg" favoritecount="1295" retweetcount="444" status="Why ban when you can tax (heavily)? Banning #ecigarettes while keeping tobacco products is bizarre. Neither health… https://t.co/rCC1CTJjQ5" createdat="1568814225000" id="1174318093402640384"></div>



 She even asked for new evidence on vaping versus smoking in a follow up tweet. She’s not alone, scores of Twitter users were perplexed about why there was a ban on e-cigarettes when the tobacco products are the real problem. 
	<div type="twitter" handle="DeoKalikesh" handlename="Kalikesh Singh Deo" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/725936544318550017/B3To4QaV_normal.jpg" favoritecount="45" retweetcount="7" status="Still trying to understand how #ecigarettes are more harmful than tobacco cigarettes, bidis, guthka. If one is bann… https://t.co/duBXGBeGIE" createdat="1568834885000" id="1174404745194164224"></div>



 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the ban during a cabinet briefing. "Production, manufacturing, import, export, transport, sale,distribution, storage and advertisements related to e-cigarettes are all banned in India. It is banned in all these nine forms,” she said. A large number of e-cigarette models are available in the market today, even though none of them are produced in India. However, the ban on e-cigarettes is actually a global phenomenon. The United States of America, which is also home to one of the biggest e-cigarette companies <keyword id="7020799" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Juul">Juul</keyword>, has also been advocating ban on flavoured e-cigarettes as it is encouraging the youth to smoke. <a href="https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/09/17/hearing-flavored-e-cigarettes-vaping-new-york/">New York</a> became one of the first states in the US to ban flavoured e-cigarettes and was followed by Michigan.

Indian economist questions the government’s decision to ban e-cigarettes

<ul><li>Indian Finance Minister, <keyword id="129243" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Sitharaman">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword>, has announced a ban on e-cigarettes in India. </li><li>She said e-cigarettes are being used as a 'style statement' rather than a tool to quit smoking.</li><li>The ban is subject to approval from the Indian parliament.</li></ul> Indian Finance Minister and cabinet member, Nirmala Sitharam, announced a total ban on every aspect of e-cigarettes in the country. "Production, manufacturing, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisements related to e-cigarettes are all banned in India. It is banned in all these nine forms," stated Sitharam during the cabinet briefing. She said that the decision is being taken in lieu of the seven deaths, which occurred in the US over the past week, directly linked to the use of e-cigarettes. <div type="twitter" handle="PIB_India" handlename="PIB India" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/974552536408444928/TVZG_9jP_normal.jpg" favoritecount="104" retweetcount="38" status="#UnionCabinet approves the promulgation of the prohibition of E-Cigarettes Ordinance, 2019. The decision to prohib… https://t.co/DF4OUMqGGa" createdat="1568800703000" id="1174261375339827201"></div>

 "The cabinet, rightly, thought it's time to immediately take a decision so that the health of our youth and citizens is not risked," said Sitharam. E-cigarettes are a 'style statement' A large number of e-cigarette models are available in the market today. However, none of them are produced in India. The government believes that are currently over 400 brands of e-cigarettes in the country available in over 150 flavours. The varieties on offer tend to make people try them due to the 'cool' factor, rather than the devices being used for their original purpose, which is to help people quit smoking. "In India, ground reports say that e-cigs are being used as a 'style statement'," said Sitharaman. "Reports say many people are not using it to quit smoking but actually smoking cigarettes as well as e-cigarettes, if they're already smokers. Some are getting into the habit because it seems cool," she explained. Passive smoking E-cigarettes were banned as they are not only harmful to the user and those around them. The fact that're odourless makes even more dangerous, according to Sitharaman. "The smoke exhaled by a user of e-cigarettes, contains a high level of residual nicotine, which for people around standing as passive smokers — it will affect them too," she said. While the cabinet approved the ban, it is subject to approval from the government. The ordinance advises the government to analyse the impact of e-cigarettes on people and their health. The cabinet will take the matter forward during the next session of parliament.

Cabinet bans e-cigarettes which are 'harmful' and a 'style statement'

<ul><li>The government is set to ban the manufacture, import and sale of <keyword id="141209" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-cigarettes">e-cigarettes</keyword> India as the health ministry considers it a drug. </li><li>The ban will be imposed under the provisions of Section 26 (A) of <keyword id="716386" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Drug-and-Cosmetics-Act">Drug and Cosmetics Act</keyword>, 1940. </li><li>There are 460 brands of e-cigarettes in India which come in 7,700 different flavours. </li><li>Banning e-cigarettes and related products is part of the government’s first “100 days agenda.” </li></ul>E-Cigarettes are all set to banned in India as the health ministry considers it a drug and will soon release notification to effect, <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/govt-to-ban-e-cigarettes-ends-promoters-urge-health-ministry-to-reconsider-119070300286_1.html">as per reports</a>. The central government was trying to ban the manufacture and sale of the e-cigarettes since last year. However, the rules of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act do not allow a ban though they can be regulated. However, in a drug consultative committee meeting on June 1, experts finally found their way out. They classified it as a drug which allows them to ban it under the provisions of <a href="https://upload.indiacode.nic.in/showfile?actid=AC_CEN_12_13_00023_194023_1523353460112&amp;type=rule&amp;filename=Drugs%20and%20Cosmetics%20Act,%201940%20and%20Rules,%201945.pdf">Section 26 (A) of </a>Drugs and Cosmetics Act. First Agenda Banning e-cigarettes and other related products that use liquid <keyword id="54964" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="nicotine">nicotine</keyword> solution and turn them to vapours through heat, which is finally inhaled by the user --- is a part of the new government’s first 100 days agenda. E-cigarette makers market them as products which smokers quit the habit. However, most of them are illegal and operate without a licence. “Regulatory measures to prevent the use of e-cigarettes are necessary. They are imported unlicensed products and are found to be widely sold online. The ministry is now considering to ban the product,” a health ministry official said. E-cigarettes have become a fashion statement among the youth and others. They replace the commonly used cigarettes that use tobacco leaves. Government data shows more than 460 e-cigarette brands are operating in India which provide different nicotine configurations. E-cigarettes are available in over 7,700 flavours in India. The drug consultative meeting of the health ministry also noted that the electronic nicotine delivery systems includes e-cigarettes, heat-not burn devices, vape, e-shisha, e-nicotine, flavoured hookah, and similar products are used as a tobacco cessation products.

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India's e-cigarettes ban hasn't stopped vaping⁠ — it only drove out Juul and Vape

Preeti Soni

Indian economist questions the government’s decision to ban e-cigarettes

Sanchita Dash

Cabinet bans e-cigarettes which are 'harmful' and a 'style statement'

Prabhjote Gill

E-cigarettes are a ‘drug’: health ministry finds way to ban the device

BI India Bureau