Ban on e-cigarettes will increase smuggling: Tobacco body

Prohibition of electronic cigarettes in India will lead to a rise in smuggling with no assurance of source and quality standard, said Tobacco Institute of India (TII) on Friday.

"In face of global growth trends and the increasing consumer acceptance of such products in India, a ban on legal business in electronic cigarettes in the country will pose a serious threat of illicit trade and large-scale smuggling of these products into the country with no assurance of source and quality standard," said a statement by TII.

E-cigarettes, also known as Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), considered to be safer than tobacco cigarettes, are handheld electronic devices that try to create a feeling of smoking tobacco.

They work by heating a liquid to generate an aerosol, commonly called a "vapor", that the user inhales.

According to the TII, 160 signatory countries under World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, including the US, the UK and EU countries have not imposed prohibition on electronic cigarettes.

Canada and New Zealand which had earlier prohibited ENDS have reversed their decision and allowed these products to be made available to people in their countries.

The TII says that the prohibition of e-cigarettes, 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.

The Health Ministry is considering measures to ban e-cigarettes after an expert committee said that it has cancer causing properties.

--IANS

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