CHENNAI: After the ban on e-cigarettes, announced by the Centre on Wednesday, the appeal to ban tobacco cigarettes is also getting louder. However, experts have welcomed the ban on e-cigarettes across the country, which has health impact on youngsters.
The Centre has announced that production, manufacturing, import, export, transport, sale including the online mode, distribution and advertisement of e-cigarettes constitute a punishable offence, attracting one-year imprisonment or a fine of Rs 1 lakh for the first-time offence. Repeat offence could lead to three-year imprisonment or a penalty of Rs 5 lakh or both.
In fact, the Tamil Nadu Government banned the sale of e-cigarettes last year itself. Meanwhile, the Association of Vapors India (AVI) claimed it was a biased move by the Centre.
“Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister, based the decision on the evils of nicotine even though cigarettes and bidis, which also contain nicotine, continue to be sold in every street corner of India,” said Samrat Chowdhery, Director, AVI, in a statement.
“The government owns 28 per cent of ITC, a leading manufacturer of cigarettes. This means the government is directly benefiting from the trade. It is also earning thousands of crores from taxes on cigarettes,” Samrat Chowdhery told Express.
Meanwhile, listing the health effects of e-cigarettes, Dr K Kolandaswamy, Director of Public Health, said,
“The nicotine in the e-cigarettes will stimulate blood vessels and cardiac muscles. It will increase heart rate and blood pressure. It will also cause heart attack, chronic renal failure and reduce respiratory capacity. Air sacs in the lungs will also shrink. The oxygen-carrying capacity of the lungs will reduce”.
About the need for a ban on tobacco cigarettes, he said, “The Public Health Department is of the view that tobacco should also be banned. Tobacco in any form is injurious to health. So farmers engaged in the tobacco cultivation are also at risk. The chemicals will get absorbed in their body through skin and legs while handling the plants. These farmers should also shift to cultivation of alternative crops”.
Dr E Vidhubala, cancer researcher, said, “The e-cigarette companies are advocating it as less harmful, saying it will help one quit smoking; that is not true. We as a tobacco control community really appreciate the government move to ban e-cigarette. But, tobacco ban is also a way forward and the government should consider it. Why can’t tobacco, which has high public health impact, be banned?”.
Echoing the same concern, Dr V Surendran, Head Psycho-Oncology and Resource Centre for Tobacco Control said, “The lung cancer incidence in the city is increasing more than in rural areas. Bidi consumption has also increased. Passive smoking is also high. So, tobacco in any form is harmful and the government should ban it”.
What it contains
An E-cigarette is a battery-operated device. It contains a liquid solution typically consisting of nicotine, chemical substances, like propylene glycol or glycerol and often flavouring. The solution is heated by the battery producing aerosol or vapour inhaled by users