"They want to protect the tobacco industry"
India has decided to completely ban e-cigarettes. However, tobacco products, such as cigarettes and chewing tobacco, are not affected by the hasty ban.
India, one of the most populous countries in the world, has imposed a ban on all sales, imports, exports, manufacturing, storage and transportation of e-cigarettes, writes the Guardian newspaper.
The reason is said to be increased use among young people in the country, but critics argue that this is not the real reason behind the ban. In countries like the US and United Kingdom e-cigarettes have become the most popular and effective way to quit smoking. This has significantly reduced sales of analog cigarettes.
"Our authorities care more about the cigarette industry than about people's health" says consumer organization Association of Vapers in India to the Guardian newspaper.
The state owns tobacco companies
India is the world's third largest tobacco producer and exports nearly a billion dollars worth of tobacco products every year. An estimated 45 million people are directly or indirectly dependent on the tobacco industry, writes the Guardian.
At the same time, India has the second highest tobacco consumption in the world (100 million smokers) and Indian government owns shares in one of the country's largest tobacco companies, ITC.
"It's absolutely absurd" says vejparen Aronjoy, 22, to The Guardian. "It's ok to smoke, but that vejpa, which is much less harmful, it will be banned"
E-cigs banned in Thailand and Singapore
Similar laws exist in other Asian countries such as Thailand and Singapore. The penalty for violating the new Indian vejp Act can be up to one year in prison.
According to Public Health of England, the British health authority vejpning a much safer method for a smoker According to PHE, e-cigarettes, which are being launched by both tobacco companies and a variety of more or less large private players, have the potential to greatly improve the health of smokers, which in the long run could benefit countries with high costs for health care and treatment of smoking-related injuries. In India, every year 900 000 people due to smoking in the country, according to the WHO.
