Lok Sabha members support ban on e-cigarettes, oppose ordinance

Cutting across party lines, members in Lok Sabha on Tuesday supported a bill to ban the production, import, and sale of electronic cigarettes through Congress questioned the government's decision to adopt the ordinance route for the legislation. The discussion on the bill remained inconclusive and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan would reply on Wednesday, Speaker Om Birla said.

The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Bill, 2019, seeks to replace an ordinance issued on September 18. The bill was moved for consideration and passage by Harsh Vardhan.

Moving a statutory resolution objecting to the promulgation of the ordinance, Congress member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said he has no fundamental objection to the contents of the bill but was against the adoption of ordinance route by the government for a subject which was not of urgent importance. "The ordinance-addicted government," he said, cannot convey any strong message to the people.

He questioned the urgency behind the ordinance at a time when 16 states have already banned e-cigarettes. Observing that one million people die because of consuming tobacco products, Chowdhury said the government needs to thoroughly discuss issues concerning both conventional cigarettes and e-cigarettes.

Participating in the discussion, Varun Gandhi (BJP) defended the ordinance saying "prevention is always better than cure". He also dismissed the reports which suggest that e-cigarettes were less harmful than conventional cigarettes saying nicotine is harmful to health and any suggestion to the contrary, as pointed out by some research reports, was unacceptable.

Gandhi further said that the introduction of e-cigarettes in the US has brought down the average smoking age to 17 years from 30 years which was alarming. The bill makes the manufacturing, production, import, export, distribution, transport, sale, storage or advertisements of such alternative smoking devices a cognizable offense, attracting a jail term and a fine.

First-time violators will face a jail term of up to one year and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. For subsequent offenses, a jail term of up to three years or a fine of Rs 5 lakh, or both, will be imposed, according to the ordinance. The storage of e-cigarettes shall also be punishable with imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to Rs 50,000, or both, it said.

The bill authorized officials to conduct searches on-premises, stating that where such searches were not permissible authorities might attach properties, stocks of e-cigarettes or records maintained by the manufacturer, producer exporter, transporter, importer, stockist against whom a complaint had been made. It said the owner or occupier of the place that stocks e-cigarettes should voluntarily prepare a list of such stock in his possession and without delay submit the stock to the nearest authorized officer.

However, trade bodies promoting e-cigarettes, users and other stakeholders have been opposing the government's move to ban the alternative smoking device, alleging that it was a draconian step taken in haste to protect the conventional cigarette industry. DNV Senthil Kumar of the DMK said both the e-cigarettes and the traditional cigarettes are hazardous but the government chose to "target" only one type of cigarette.

He suggested that all types of tobacco-related products should be banned. BJD MP Sarmistha Sethi said e-cigarettes have 1500 flavors and that attract children. She said a large number of school children in the US and the UK are attracted to e-cigarettes.

"The ban will help save the people from addiction," she said. YSR Congress member Bharat Margani said around 10 lakh people get killed in the country every year due to the consumption of tobacco-related products.

"Banning e-cigarette is good but why not completely ban the entire tobacco products," he said. JD-U member Mahabali Singh supported the bill but said the government should bring a legislation to ban alcohol.

Ban smoking of bidi, cigarettes and all other tobacco products too, he said.