Why in News?

• More than three years after e-cigarettes were banned in the country (in 2019), a recent medical study found that educated youth are leading the vaping (smoking) habit. 

What’s in Today’s Article?

• What Exactly is an e-Cigarette?
• How does an e-Cigarette Work?
• Are There Any Health Risks of Using e-Cigarette?
• What is the Ethical Dilemma of Using e-Cigarettes?
• News Summary with respect to the Use of e-Cigarettes in India

What Exactly is an e-Cigarette?

• E-cigarettes are the most common form of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), which are basically devices that do not burn or use tobacco leaves.
• Instead, they vaporise a solution using a battery and this vapour is then inhaled by the user.
• The main constituents of the solution, in addition to nicotine, are propylene glycol, with or without glycerol and flavouring agents.
• While a faster, deeper puff increases nicotine delivery from a conventional cigarette, it might diminish it from e-cigarettes due to cooling of the heating element.

 How does an e-Cigarette Work?

Are There Any Health Risks of Using e-Cigarette?

• Once nicotine is used in the solution of an e-cigarette, the difference between it and a conventional cigarette blurs.
• The use of nicotine solutions (a highly addictive substance) in e-cigarettes underlines the fact that they can be equally addictive as conventional cigarettes.
• In terms of health risks, the power of an e-cigarette to deliver nicotine determines how dangerous its use can be.
• Despite not being a carcinogen, nicotine has the potential to stimulate tumour growth.
• According to WHO, some solutions in e-Cigarettes and emissions from them are considered to be "toxicants".

What is the Ethical Dilemma of Using e-Cigarettes?

• e-Cigarettes were introduced and popularised by forwarding the argument that they are effective in helping people quit smoking tobacco.
• However, there are no concrete large-scale studies to show their effectiveness in helping people quit smoking.

News Summary with respect to the Use of e-Cigarettes in India:

• What is the status of e-Cigarette use in India?
  • In 2019, the central government informed Parliament that e-cigarettes worth USD 1,91,781 were imported in India between 2016-16 and 2018-19, mostly from China, US, Hong Kong and Germany.
  • Besides this, it estimates that between 2017 and 2018, e-cigarette use saw an increase of 78% among high school students and 48% among middle school students.
  • The government of India through the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement) Ordinance 2019, banned e-Cigarettes in India.
  • Any production, manufacturing, import, etc., shall be a cognisable offence in India, punishable with an imprisonment of up to 1 year/fine up to Rs 1 lakh/both for the first offence.
  • India, where 65% of the population is under 35 years of age, is one of the few countries that has completely banned the sale of e-cigarettes.
• Highlights of the recent study on the use of e-Cigarettes in India:
  • Despite a ban in the country, educated youth (among 840 interviewed 23% had used) are among those who most used e-cigarettes.
  • E-cigarettes are available through online stores and even some local vendors.
  • Just under two-thirds of those who were aware of e-cigarettes believed them to be harmful and to contain chemicals.
  • Among non-users, 31% were curious about using e-cigarettes, and 23% intended to use them in the following year, indicating high levels of susceptibility.
• What needs to be done to reduce uptake of e-Cigarettes? Greater education about harms associated with vaping and more intensive monitoring and enforcement could assist in reducing uptake in relatively high-prevalence groups such as educated adults.