New Delhi: E-cigarettes are easily available at tobacco shops and sold to anyone without any age verification, the findings of a joint survey have revealed.
The findings have been shared with the Union health ministry.
The survey conducted across six states — Assam, Goa, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana — and Delhi also found that e-cigarettes get delivered within a couple of days when ordered online (through e-commerce websites, exclusive vape websites, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and other social media sites) and are sold without any age verification.
Also, most of the vendors are not aware that e-cigarettes have been banned by law and are openly selling those, and the e-cigarettes that are being sold are mostly manufactured in China, the survey conducted by five organisations — Voluntary Health Association of India, VOICE, Nadda India, National Law School University India, Bangalore and Karnataka NO for Tobacco — said.
Despite the ban clamped by the government in 2019, e-cigarettes are easily available at tobacco shops and sold to children below 18 years of age, it added.
Shops and vendors were randomly selected for the survey. A total of 100 points of sale were surveyed across the six states and Delhi.
The survey was conducted both online and offline.
The field investigators checked on the availability of e-cigarettes, age verification, awareness on the ban and subsequent penalties in case of being found guilty among the vendors.
The survey also found out that e-cigarettes are available among the tobacco vendors operating near educational institutions. Some tobacco vendors do not sell such products but assure a doorstep delivery in accordance with demand.
While ordering online, a few websites ask for age verification, which merely requires ticking a checkbox asking whether the customer is aged 18 years or above, the survey said while pointing out that most of the e-cigarettes that are being sold are manufactured in China.
The key findings of the survey were presented at the National Consultation on the Enforcement of Prohibition of Electronic-Cigarettes Act 2019 — Challenges and Way Forward, which was held here on February 23.
E-cigarettes were banned to protect youngsters from a new form of toxic addiction. However, its enforcement has been weak, resulting in the market being flooded with cheap and unbranded China-made e-cigarettes. Thus, a coordinated effort at the central and state levels is urgently needed to ensure that the ban is effective, said Bhavna Mukopadhyay, chief executive, Voluntary Health Association of India. (Agencies)
