India's Tobacco Laws and Regulations: Reassessment Needed for E-cigarettes

According to a report by the Indian media outlet Sunday Guardian on August 27th, senior Indian lawmaker Rajeev Gowda has urged India to seriously reconsider its tobacco laws and regulations concerning e-cigarettes and heated tobacco. He argues that the health department's ban on e-cigarettes has missed a crucial opportunity in public health.

Gowada, the Vice Chairman of the Transformative Research Institute of the government of Karnataka, strongly believes that e-cigarettes could potentially serve as an alternative to assist smokers in quitting tobacco. Tobacco is considered the biggest threat to public health in India, and the Ministry of Health has shown negligence in banning e-cigarettes (ENDS).

Govada believes that the government may want to prevent the emergence of large user groups, especially among young people. However, in banning ENDS, the government did not consider the different types of ENDS and heat-not-burn (HNB) devices, their varying health impacts, and HNB as a product that reduces tobacco harm.

Govada believes that the term "e-cigarette" is used as a general term, but in reality, there is a variety of devices with different technologies and features.

Policy makers should evaluate and regulate individual devices based on their specific characteristics and impact, rather than lumping them together under a comprehensive ban.

Gowada states that e-cigarettes can be purchased at local stores, online, or even through chat apps, indicating that the ban has failed to achieve its objectives. This parallels the situation with alcohol prohibition, which led to a significant black market and unforeseen health risks associated with counterfeit alcohol consumption.

Gowada states that public policies should be based on scientific evidence rather than assumptions or biases.

The scientific and academic consensus regarding the regulation of e-cigarettes has been growing. India can and should draw lessons from all this evidence to formulate its own scientific framework for reducing tobacco harm.

Gowada emphasized the importance of understanding the difference between ENDS and HNB. ENDS, or Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, do not contain tobacco but rather consist of a liquid nicotine solution that is vaporized for inhalation. On the other hand, HNB, or Heat-Not-Burn, does indeed involve tobacco but it is only heated to release an aerosol, not combusted.

By merging HNB and END under a comprehensive ban, tobacco consumers have been denied the option of a potentially safer and lower-risk alternative to combustible cigarettes, as well as their right to make informed decisions.