Amid debates over consumption of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, a voluntary association of trade representatives of ENDS in the country appealed to the Centre and the Delhi government on 24th July to regulate the sale of e-cigarettes and "not impose a ban" on its use.



The association said it has written a fresh letter to Union Health Minister and Delhi Health Minister, seeking an audience to share the industry's perspective based on "research done on ENDS in the western countries".

ENDS are devices that heat a solution to create an aerosol, which also frequently contains flavours, usually dissolved into propylene glycol and glycerin. There are various types of ENDS devices like e-cigarettes, heat-not-burn devices, vape, e-sheesha and e-nicotine flavoured hookah, among others.

The appeal comes days after the Delhi High Court directed the Kejriwal government to urgently look into the matter of regulating the sale and consumption of e-cigarettes and termed it an "e-burning issue" as damage was being caused to children, who have started consuming these products. Besides, apex research body Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had recently recommended a "complete" ban on ENDS, including e-cigarettes, saying their use can initiate nicotine addiction among non-smokers.

Praveen Rikhy, convener of the Trade Representatives of ENDS in India (TRENDS), interacting with reporters here, claimed that instead of banning it, both the central and state governments should consider regulating its sale and consumption. "Studies done by a few research institutions in the west have shown that consumption of e-cigarettes, which contain far less harmful products, can help a smoker slowly give up smoking instead of relapsing to smoking cigarettes," she claimed.

Asked if there was any study done in India to back her claim, she said, "No, but we would urge the government to have a scientific research done on its effects."  "We will then accept whatever the government says, but myths related to ENDS should be busted," Rikhy said. E-cigarettes, the most common among ENDS, produces an aerosolised mixture of the flavoured liquids and nicotine which is inhaled by the user.

On July 11, a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar asked the Delhi government what it had been doing in the last one year since it informed the court that it was initiating steps to ban e-cigarettes and whether the authorities were looking into the matter or not. 

"Are you doing something? Look at the damage it is causing to our children. Is anyone looking at this matter... See the urgency. Look at the content of nicotine in them. It is an e-burning issue," the bench said.

The court, which was hearing a plea seeking to regulate the sale and consumption of e-cigarettes, was informed by the petitioner's counsel that now-a-days, schoolchildren have started using e-cigarettes that contain nicotine. In a white paper released on the World No Tobacco Day on March 31, the ICMR had said e-cigarettes adversely affects the cardiovascular system, impairs respiratory immune cell function and airways in a way similar to cigarette smoking and is responsible for severe respiratory disease.

The sale of e-cigarettes is completely banned in 25 countries, including Brazil, Norway and Singapore, while market authorisation is required in 17 other countries. In the US, ENDS, marketed for therapeutic purposes, are currently regulated by the US-FDA and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, the white paper stated.