India to enforce ban on e-cigarettes

Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the Indian government has given approval to ban e-cigarettes.

Following the decision, manufacturing, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertising related to e-cigarettes are now banned.

The Indian finance misters said that the key reason behind the move to ban the smoking substitute was the alarming rate at which vaping is becoming popular among the younger population.

Speaking on the decision, Sitharaman said: "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.

"Reports say that there are some who are probably getting into the habit of e-cigarettes as it seems cool. It is believed that there are more than 400 brands, none of which are manufactured in India.”

Once the ban is enforced, anyone in possession of e-cigarette stocks will need to declare and deposit it with the nearest police station.