Until April 15, India had never formally defined its stance on e-cigarettes. This changed when a shopkeeper in Mohali was sentenced to 3 years of jail, for selling e-cigarettes, Tribune India reported. Additional Sessions Judge Saru Mehta Kaushik prosecuted 25-year-old Parvesh Kumar under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and also imposed a Rs. 1 lakh fine on him. According to a 2013 circular by the State Drugs Controller, e-cigarettes are an “unapproved drug”. E-cigarettes use battery-powered cartridges to produce a vapour which replaces the smoke from cigarettes - there is still unverified research about how safe it is. Nicotine, present in many of the cartridges of e-cigarettes, is one of the most addictive substances known to man.

Maharashtra banned e-cigs, MP doctors demands a ban

In 2015, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) containing nicotine were made 'illegal' in Maharashtra in 2015 by the state Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "...import, distribution and sale of e-cigarettes containing nicotine are not approved. Since e-cigarettes are being sold in market without permission, this is contravention of section 18 (b) and 18 (C) of Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Hence, its sale is illegal," state FDA commissioner Harshadeep Kamble told the Times of India.

Nicotine is approved for use in de-addiction based chewing gums and lozenges containing less than 2 milligrams of the ingredient. "Permission to sale lozenges, gums containing nicotine less than 2mg are already given by the DCGI. Nicotine products above 2mg are sold only with prescriptions from registered medical practitioners," Kamble said. In January this year, Madhya Pradesh Medical Officers Association (MPMOA) demanded a state government ban on e-cigarettes.

You can easily get it online though!

However, However, it is not clear whether these contains nicotine, even in trace amounts. It is the delivery of tobacco which is the bone of contention, not the actual devices. According to Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, professor and surgeon at Parel's Tata Memorial Hospital, "E-cigarette is a terrible alternative. Only under strict monitoring, can any nicotine replacement therapy work." Dr. Chaturvedi said that they could provide temporary relief for withdrawal symptoms: “But it's like antibiotics; you can't take them for months." Only two per cent of Indians are able to quit smoking.

"When you give an e-cigarette to a smoker, you're not allowing him to quit smoking. You are only making him switch his source of nicotine, which is a highly addictive drug with proven disease-causing properties."