After Michigan and New York, India is next in line to announce a complete ban on the popular alternative to cigarettes, E-cigarettes. The Union Cabinet has approved to the wholesome ban on the sale, manufacturing, import, export, transport, distribution, storage, and also advertising related to E-cigarettes.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, justified the ban saying, "E-cigarettes were promoted as a way to get people out of their smoking habits, but reports have shown that many people are not using it as weaning mechanism but are addicted to it,".
FM further added that around 400 E-cigarette brands selling in India but aren’t Indian. Smoking these electronic cigarettes has become a new cool, and instead of giving up smoking altogether, people are now getting addicted to these electronic gadgets. The sale of E-cigarettes has gone up with the advent of a multitude of flavours in the E-cigarette market.
Following US President Trump’s tweet, the state Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York instigated an emergency ban on the sale of flavoured e-cigarettes. In the USA, the ban comes as a result of several reports of severe health issues and deaths that report back to the act of vaping.
It is scientifically proven that E-cigarettes or Vapes have a lesser negative impact on the health of its user compared to conventional means of smoking. Various studies and reports have supported the above-mentioned statement. However, it is also recorded by researchers that they are unaware of the long-term effects of vaping.
The new addition to the list of bans in India will shake up the economy of India. The E-cigarette market was a new growing sector adding to the overall economy. The ban is imagined to have a budgetary impact of Rs 2,028 crore.
Currently, India is the second-biggest consumer of cigarettes after China, banning E-cigarettes, a popular alternative to cigarettes will push even more people to turn back to conventional cigarettes. The stock market proved the possible future already. Not long after FM Sitharaman announced the approval by Union cabinet, cigarette stocks rose.
Though the ban is initiated citing health concerns, the overall impact of banning E-cigarettes might result in more people smoking cigarettes, which is way more harmful than Vapes.
