Indian policy expert calls for review of e-cigarette laws and science-based regulation

Indian senior politician Rajeev Gowda stated that India should seriously reconsider its tobacco laws, as well as regulations regarding e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, because the health department's ban on e-cigarettes has missed an important public health opportunity.

[Two Supreme News] According to Indian media Sunday Guardian on August 27, senior politician Rajeev Gowda stated that India should seriously reconsider its tobacco laws, as well as regulations regarding e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, because the health department's ban on e-cigarettes has missed an important public health opportunity. 

Gowda, who is the vice-chairman of the Karnataka Government Transformation Institute, strongly believes that e-cigarettes could be a choice to help smokers quit tobacco. Tobacco is the biggest threat to public health in India, and the health department has been negligent in banning e-cigarettes (ENDS).

Gowda believes that the government may want to prevent a large user base from emerging, especially among young people, but in banning ENDS, it did not consider the different types of ENDS and heat-not-burn (HNB) devices, their different health impacts, and HNB as products for reducing tobacco harm.

Gowda argues that the term "e-cigarette" is used as a blanket term, but in reality, there are a range of devices with different technologies and characteristics.

“Policymakers should assess and regulate them based on the individual characteristics and impacts of various devices, rather than lumping them together under a comprehensive ban.”

Gowda stated that anyone can purchase e-cigarettes locally, online, or even through chat apps. All of this indicates that the ban has failed to achieve its goals. This is similar to the situation with alcohol prohibition, which led to a huge black market and unexpected health risks from counterfeit alcohol consumption.

Gowda stated that public policy should be based on scientific evidence, not assumptions or biases.

“The scientific and academic consensus on regulating e-cigarettes has been growing. India can and should learn from all this evidence to create its own scientific framework for tobacco harm reduction.”

Gowda emphasized the importance of understanding the differences between ENDS and HNB. ENDS do not contain tobacco but vaporize liquid nicotine solutions for inhalation. HNB does contain tobacco, only heated to release aerosol instead of burning. “By lumping HNB with ENDS under a comprehensive ban, tobacco consumers are deprived of a potentially safer, lower-risk alternative to combustible cigarettes, as well as their right to make informed decisions.”

References:    【1】 ‘India needs to rethink its tobacco laws’