India has favoured a complete ban on e-cigarettes, pointing out that they push children and other non-smokers to nicotine addiction.
Addressing the global tobacco control experts at the 45th Union World Conference on Lung Health at Barcelona in Spain, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan stated India’s stand on the controversy surrounding acceptability of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) – commonly known as e-cigarettes.
“In our national consultation, it has been shown that children and other non-smokers tend to develop nicotine addiction at a rate greater than situations where ENDS did not exist. And after that the slide to tobacco is practically inevitable,” the Health Minister said.
He ruled out acceptability of e-cigarettes, citing researches suggesting they were no less unsafe than real cigarettes.
Published 29 October 2014, 19:55 IST