CHENNAI: Electronic-Cigarette, a battery-operated inhaler that emits doses of vaporised nicotine, or non-nicotine solutions, will be banned in Tamil Nadu, Health minister C Vijaya Baskar told the Assembly on Thursday.
“Tamil Nadu had already banned chewable tobacco. E-Cigarette also will be banned in Tamil Nadu for the well being of the people. Smokers are being attracted to E-Cigarette by attractive advertisements claiming that these cigarettes are not harmful,” he said. This was one of the 108 announcements the minister made in the Assembly on Thursday during the discussions on grants for the health department.
Many researches suggest that vaping may be hazardous to health and many western countries started to enforce rules about sales, marketing, and production of these products. But experts are divided on the issue still.
These cigarettes are easily available in city shopping complexes and the cost ranges from Rs 1, 200 to Rs 7,500. “I have sold 120 pieces in the last two months and I have run out of stock,” a young shopkeeper at one of the malls, told Express. “The demand for vaporizers is high, especially among youngsters as it is considered ‘cool’ and also believed to be less harmful than smoking cigarettes,” he added.
While experts are divided on whether or not, e-cigarettes are better for health, those who supply them vouch for their popularity among youngsters and young professionals.
“We get a lot of customers who are in their 30s” said a woman who works at a store in a city shopping complex that supplies vaporisers that range from Rs 1,200 to Rs 7,500. “The costlier ones are not as popular, but the vaporizers that are Rs 1,200 are very fast-selling. We have been selling these items for the last two years and have only seen demand for them grow significantly,” she added.