New Delhi:  In a major decision, the government on Wednesday announced a ban on e-cigarettes and vaping products in the country. The move comes after the government had taken up a proposal from the Health Ministry in its meeting last week to ban manufacturing and sale of e-cigarettes.

Briefing the media today after the cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government would pass an ordinance immediately subject to President's approval to give effect to the ban. The government would introduce a bill in Parliament in the winter session, she said.

As per the terms of the ban, punishment to be meted out for the first offence by an individual would be a one-year imprisonment or a fine of Rs 1 lakh. Repeat offences could lead to a three-year imprisonment or a penalty of Rs 5 lakh or both, said Preeti Sudan, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

She said all offences such as import, export and distribution, except storing e-cigarettes and vaping products are cognizable.

The decision also comes after demands from various quarters rose to ban Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), which includes e-cigarettes, Heat-Not-Burn devices, Vape, e-Sheesha, e-Nicotine Flavoured Hookah, and other similar devices.

E-cigarettes or "vaping" cigerattes are often marketed as a harmless product to help quit smoking. It does not burn tobacco but heats the liquid chemicals into a vapour or steam that a person inhales. This is the reason it is also called vaping. E-cigarettes are considered harmful to health.

The Health Ministry has proposed to make production, manufacturing, import, export, transport, sale, distribution or advertisements of e-cigarettes a cognizable offence. Besides fines, the offence could land one in jail for upto three years. The draft ordinance also makes storage of e-cigarettes punishable with jail term upto 6 months and fine upto Rs 50,000 or both.

"As such, the states/Union territories are advised, in larger public health interest and in order to prevent the initiation of ENDS by non-smokers and youth with special attention to vulnerable groups, to ensure that any Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) including e-cigarettes, heat-not-burn devices, vape, e-sheesha, e-nicotine flavoured hookah, and the like devices that enable nicotine delivery are not sold (including online sale), manufactured, distributed, traded, imported and advertised in their jurisdictions," the advisory issued in August 2018 said.

Limited use of such products were, however, allowed as per Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules there under.

Ban E-Cigarettes To Save Tobacco Farmers: Kisan Union

On Tuesday, the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) has appealed to the government to ban e-cigarettes and vaping products in the country. The appeal was made to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday.

"If e-cigarettes are allowed in India, it will have a devastating effect on the tobacco farmers in India. The main reason is that the e-cigarette companies who are trying to open shops in India are from foreign origin and do not use Indian tobacco. In fact, the countries that these e-cigarettes belong to, like the US, have also banned them," Jagjit Singh Dallewala of the BKU said in a statement on Tuesday.

The BKU said more than 30 countries have banned these items and more are planning to ban them. Tobacco growing countries like Thailand, Nepal, Brazil, Mexico, and Sri Lanka have also banned these products to save the livelihoods of their farmers.

The BKU has alleged that extraction of nicotine from tobacco is done outside India. The tobacco used is also grown outside India, the raw material used to manufacture nicotine is the tobacco dust, produced while processing chewing and beedi tobacco. The farmers do not produce any fresh quantity of tobacco to extract nicotine.

The BKU has alleged that some companies have a vested interest and are trying to mislead the government.

Gujarat Tobacco Growers & Merchants Association Not In Favour Of Ban

The Gujarat Tobacco Merchants Association (GTMA) and Gujarat Tobacco Growers & Merchants Association (GTGMA) had also appealed the government to not ban e-cigarettes or other similar products, arguing it will serve no purpose other than hurting the tobacco industry.

However, supporting the government's move, the Protect our Livelihood campaign of tobacco farmers, supported by the Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA), said the opposition was from a "small group of people with vested interests who are
espousing the cause of multinational organisations".

In a release, POLFAIFA said that a "handful of farmers" led by tobacco merchants, who are suppliers to the vaping industry, were "misleading policy makers and causing confusion that banning e-cigarettes and vaping products, would lead to a tremendous loss of revenue to farmers and tobacco traders", which was not the case.

It said that the extraction of nicotine from tobacco for products like ENDS happens largely outside India and allowing the e-cigarette trade to flourish in India would have catastrophic effect on the country's tobacco farmers.

(With additional information from IANS)