India’s vape ban only deprives smokers of safer options.

GS-II: India’s vape ban only deprives smokers of safer options

Context

The world has embraced electronic cigarettes, commonly known as vapes, and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) as harm-reduction alternatives to combustible tobacco used in cigarettes.

e-Cigarettes:

Globally, several tobacco control researchers have concluded that e-cigarettes are at least 95% less hazardous than combustible cigarettes.
Studies by Public Health England show that the risk of passive smoking associated with them is also extremely low, as they do not produce tobacco fumes.

India – Tobacco

The country bears 12% of the global burden of tobacco users, has 40% of its adults exposed to passive smoking.
We have shown the lowest quit rate among all countries surveyed in the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2.
Since there is empirical evidence to suggest that countries, which have regulated ENDS, have witnessed a decline in smoking rates, India needs to take note and reconsider its stance on the matter.

Global Exprience:

According to a study conducted by The British Medical Journal, as many as 68 countries, including the UK, US, Canada, France, and Japan, are using a range of regulatory mechanisms to enhance the discretionary power of their adult citizens.
These include laws that prohibit sales of ENDS to minors, regulate advertising and promotion, impose limits on nicotine concentration and place checks on product quality and battery standards.
New Zealand is promoting ENDS by launching a website called Vaping Facts to clarify myths and make the country smoking-free by 2025.
Canada, the UAE, and Seychelles have reversed their bans to regulate the product and allow access to adult smokers.

Conclusion

A ban on a widely accepted alternative to smoking regular cigarettes not only prevents consumers from making a less harmful choice, but may also result in an illicit trade turning rampant. We need to check the entry of dangerous counterfeits and deny vulnerable groups access to these products via the black market.

Source: Live Mint

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