Since the announcement on September 18 that the production, sale and import of electronic cigarettes will be completely banned, the Indian government has succumbed to lawsuits, and it is not a lawsuit, but two.
On September 26, the High Court of Calcutta in the eastern city of India heard two cases against the Indian government to issue an e-cig ban. This is the first time the Indian government got sued after banning the sale of electronic cigarettes this month.
According to a Reuters report on September 27, one of the lawsuits filed in the High Court of Calcutta was an e-cigarette importer and the other was an e-cigarette company.
The plaintiff’s lawyer, Abysek Manu Singhwei, said that the government’s ban involves legal issues and is arbitrary and excessive.
India is a developing country. At present, we don’t have much understanding of the legal environment in India. While we don’t know if this accusation will finally win, the High Court of Calcutta in the eastern Indian city is willing to handle it, which is also a huge improvement, indicating that the Indian government can’t do anything at its own will.
The United States is still investigating, and has not yet issued a report that proves that it is related to e-cigarettes. The information currently known is not directly related to e-cigarettes. India has come directly to make a one-size-fits-all ban: after the ban is announced, any vaping production, manufacturing, import, export, transportation, sales (including online sales), distribution, advertising (including online advertising) are all crimes.
The first violation of the ban will result in a maximum imprisonment of one year or a fine of 100,000 rupees (about $1500), or both. The recidivist is sentenced to a maximum of three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 rupees (about $7000).
The authority is too lazy to think about more. Or there should be some tobacco companies laughing loud behind the scene.
The reason for the total ban on e-cigarettes is to consider for young people, “Let our citizens, the health of our young people no longer take risks.” In fact, everyone who knows that this reason cannot withstand scrutiny and is hypocritical.
There are approximately 106 million smokers in India, and more than 900,000 people die each year from diseases associated with tobacco. If you really think about adolescents, you should regulate the development of e-cigarettes and prohibit sales to minors. If you think about smokers, you should learn from the UK, study e-cigarettes, and strongly support the development of e-cigarettes.
Related: India bans e-cigarette sales and says there’s an ‘epidemic’ of kids vaping
