Haryana Now Blocking E-Cigarette Sites

CHANDIGARH, 14 AUG 2019:

The state drug controller (SDC) of Haryana has started blocking the websites that sell e-cigarette, a banned product. Last week, TOI had exposed how this electronic nicotine delivery system called Ends was available in the Tricity despite being unapproved under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules, 1945.

Haryana drug controller Narinder Ahuja said: “We have started the process of blocking these websites, which will take some more time.” The state has banned the pure form of nicotine under the Poison Act of 2015 but failed to curb its trade. For the sake of evidence, TOI team was able to order e-cigarette from a Gurgaon-based online company that accepted this order from Chandigarh promptly before telling the customer on email as an afterthought that delivering the item in Punjab and UT was impossible but there was no bar in Haryana.

Punjab health department’s deputy director and chief chemical examiner Rakesh Gupta said: “We were monitoring these websites regularly with the support of the cybercrime experts. We even used to warn their administrators when Punjab banned the sale of e-cigarette in 2013, so none of these online shops now take order from our state.”

Many websites sell e-cigarette with the tagline: ‘Quit smoking, switch to vaping’. This is to suggest that electronic cigarette is safer than ordinary tobacco abuse. However, leading scientific institutions such as the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have debunked this claim with an advisory that it is in larger public health interest to prevent the introduction of non-smokers, youth, and other vulnerable groups to Ends. The council advises the states to disallow the sale of any Ends devices that enables nicotine delivery. This covers online sale of e-cigarettes manufactured, distributed, traded, imported, and advertised in their jurisdictions. ET Healthworld