The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the Delhi government to urgently look into the matter of regulating the sale and consumption of e-cigarettes.
It is an “e-burning issue” as damage was being caused to children who have started consuming these products.
A Bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C. Hari Shankar questioned the government as to what it was doing for the last one year since it had informed the court that it was initiating steps to ban e-cigarettes and whether the authorities were looking into the matter or not.
‘Content of nicotine’
“Are you doing something? look 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 nowadays, schoolchildren have started consuming e-cigarettes which also contains nicotine.
To this, the court asked the government counsel Sanjoy Ghose to file an affidavit through the Chief Secretary detailing the steps taken by it for formulating a policy to ban e-cigarettes.
The Delhi government had last year informed the court that it has initiated steps to completely ban the production, sale and supply of e-cigarettes and steps were being taken to create public awareness.
Mr. Ghose told the court that it was in the process of banning it and he will convey the court’s concern to the authorities.
E-cigarettes are devices which help to create the feeling of tobacco smoking.
Various makers of the device say the e-liquid inside the device heats up when activated and creates an aerosolised vapour which provides a flavour similar to tobacco.
The court was hearing a plea filed by Seema Sehgal, a homemaker, who has sought directions to the government to formulate a policy and guidelines for advertisements and regulation of sale, production and supply of the product.
During the hearing, her counsel told the court that there is no health warning/ advisory given on the packing of e-cigarettes and there should be some regulation to govern it as it causes health problems.
He added that there is no data to show that e-cigarettes, which comes in flavours like mango and strawberry are better that the normal ones and helps in quitting smoking.
