‘E-cigarette ban will be harmful’

New Delhi: The Tobacco Institute of India (TII) on Friday claimed that ban of electronic cigarettes in the country will increase smuggling of such products, which have no assurance of source and quality standard. The TII said that prohibition of e-cigarettes would put India at an enormous structural disadvantage versus countries that have espoused a balanced regulatory policy approach on the category. 

According to the TII, the ENDS (Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems), commonly known as electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes, have witnessed increasing consumer acceptance in India as is globally. “A ban on legal business in ENDS will pose a serious threat of illicit trade and large scale smuggling of these products in the country with no assurance of source and quality standard,” it said. 

The TII claimed that prohibition would benefit illegal trade operators and promote foreign products owned by overseas entities in the absence of any domestic competition to challenge the illegal trade in these products.  

“If a ban were to be imposed on ENDS, the domestic industry would stop all research and innovation in this area. It would put India at a disadvantage against countries which would have not prohibited ENDS. Therefore, all latent and emerging consumer demand for the product in the country would be met through the illicit route,” added the TII. The health ministry is considering a ban on ENDS, of which e-cigarette is a prototype, after a technical committee evaluated recent research that said e-cigarettes were potentially lethal.