Karnataka to ban e-cigarettes

The government of the Indian state of Karnataka, acting on the advice of a ‘high power committee on tobacco control’, is set to ban electronic cigarettes, according to a story in the Times of India.

The principal secretary for health and family welfare, Shalini Rajneesh, confirmed recently that the government had issued the necessary notification.

In India, nicotine is a poisonous substance under section five of the Poisons Act 1919.

The sale of nicotine, apart from that in tobacco products that are regulated under the Control of Tobacco Products Act (COPTA), is permitted only for tobacco cessation in accordance with the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940.

Electronic cigarettes are not regulated under COPTA.

The Times quoted Health Minister UT Khader as saying it was “shocking” that even pharmacies sold electronic cigarettes.

“We must curb this in the interests of public health,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Bangalore District Chemists and Druggists’ Association president, V Harikrishnan, expressed ignorance in respect of the sale of electronic cigarettes at pharmacies.

“It’s not a medicine,” he said. “How can it be sold at drug stores? I will look into it.”

The states of Punjab and Maharashtra, and the union territory of Chandigarh, have already banned the production and sale of these devices.