Why AIIMS researchers want ban on e-cigarettes to be lifted
What's the story
Researchers from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, have called for a reconsideration of India's ban on electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), commonly known as e-cigarettes. They argue that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes can be beneficial in helping people quit smoking. The researchers also warned against potential illicit marketing and adverse health outcomes due to this ban.
Concerns raised
Complete ban may drive demand toward illicit marketing
Dr. Abhishek Shankar and Dr. Vaibhav Sahni, oncologists at AIIMS-Delhi, highlighted the potential harm of a complete ban on ENDS in their commentary published in JCO Global Oncology. They said such a prohibition could drive demand toward illicit marketing. The doctors also noted that the US witnessed an outbreak of lung injuries associated with e-cigarettes and vaping due to harmful ingredients in ENDS from informal sources.
Policy comparison
UK adopted e-cigarettes as smoking cessation tools
The researchers compared India's strict ban on ENDS with the UK's harm reduction approach, which has adopted e-cigarettes as smoking cessation tools based on evidence. They noted that regulatory measures such as advertising, packaging, labeling, and nicotine levels in e-fluids could explain these policy differences. The doctors also pointed to catastrophic results from complete liquor bans in some Indian states leading to illicit commerce and deaths from consuming spurious products.
Evidence presented
E-cigarettes shown to help people quit smoking
The AIIMS-Delhi doctors stressed that e-cigarettes have been shown to help people quit smoking, with data supporting higher quit rates. They also said nicotine-containing e-cigarettes have greater quit rates compared to those without nicotine. However, they cautioned that this evidence does come with some risk of bias.