E-cigarettes are electronics cigarettes where a heating element vaporizes a filled-in liquid to produce smoke. The filled-in liquid consists of polypylene glycol, glycerin, nicotine and flavours. They also make nicotine-free cigarettes. The vapors emitted out are in fact on aerosol mist. They are considered safe, but may contain heavy metals and toxic compounds like tin and zinc. These may be traces of nickel and chromium. Malfunctioning cigarettes may have silicon fibres. There could be explosions too, when they are over-heated.

Most e-cigarettes are manufactured in China and that too by a company Skorite Electronics. E-cigarettes are popular amongst the youngsters. There are many factories in Shenzhen region of China. Some of these units have QC measures whereas many do not. Chinese companies are the first to develop e-cigarettes.

There is no regulatory framework as yet. An e-cigarette has components such as tube-casings, ICs, heating coils and lithium-ion batteries.

Han Li, a Chinese pharmacist, pioneered, the concept of e-cigarettes in 2004. He sold the product through his company. Others soon followed. By 2009, e-cigarettes became more popular in Europe and the USA. Global tobacco giants too have entered the e-cigarette market and they too manufacture in China.MarkTen is a famous Altria-Philip Morris brand.

The first generation cigarettes are just like tobacco cigarettes and are called ‘cigalikes’. Second generation devices are larger and have USB charger. The third generation cigarettes are box-like unit holding multiple and larger batteries. The battery unit called mod is removable. Most portable devices contain a rechargeable battery. The e-liquid is called ‘juice’.

According to Rule 122 (E) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 in India, every new drug product should be sold in the country with the prior approval og the Drug Conroller General of India (DCGI). However, import, distribution and sale of e-cigarettes containing nicotine are not approved. Such cigarettes in the market are being sold without the permission, thus contravening section 18 (b) and 18 (c) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Hence according to the FDA, Maharashtra state, the sale is illegal. Maharashtra is the second state in India after Punjab to regulate the illegal sale of e-cigarettes.

These exploded on the scene in the late-2000s and made vape Ahe Oxford Dictionaries 2014 word of the year.

Philip Morris has designed iQOS, pronounced EYE-Kose which is a plastic case. Into its one end, you insert cigarettes called HEETS. iQOS is acronym for ‘I quit ordinary smoking!’ Tobacco of the inserted cigarette is heated without burning it. It produces a warm nicotine-laced aerosol. They also have designed TEEPS where users ignite a carbon tip that heats the tobacco. These products are closer to the ordinary cigarettes. STEEM is a twist on a medical inhaler. MESH is e-cigarette using flavoured nicotine liquid.

There are fears that these new substitutes ultimately drive people back to conventional cigarettes.

Electronic cigarettes and other Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) such as vapes, e-hookkahs and e-cigarettes  have been banned in India through an ordinance in 2019. There are prison terms and fines. Previously, these devices were considered safer alternatives to cigarette smoking. Vaping is a fashionable term for using vapes. Some vape-related illnesses have been reported from the US. It is reported that even nicotine-free vapours from such devices can harm blood-vessels. Besides, in an e-cigarette cartridge, there is as much nicotine as in a pack of 20 regular cigarettes. It can be a potential source of addiction.

There were 450 plus brands and 7700 flavours of vape juices being marketed in India before the ban.

The government has banned production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale distribution, storage and advertisement of e-cigarettes.

There are no standards for the manufacture of vape juices. It is shrouded in ambiguity. Some people had taken to make their own juices consulting online guidance. Vapes can also be used to deliver psychotropic substances. Aerosols expose the users to ultrafine harmful particles, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds.

People smoke for the nicotine, but die from the tar that is essentially the residue cigarette leaves. Tar contains 7000 chemicals, 80 of which are carcinogenic.

E-cigarettes are also called electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). Worldwide, stick cigarettes market is 110 billion sticks. India has a share of 11.3 per cent of cigarette smokers of the world. As compared to this, e-cigarette or ENDS market is miniscule. It is Rs. 300 crore market, mostly grey. There are e-cigarette manufacturers such as Juul and Philip Morris. They claim e-cigarette are superior to traditional cigarettes as they lack cancer-causing tar and have a lower nicotine content which is useful to wean smokers off cigarettes.

There is lobbying from both sides. The health ministry has advised states to ban e-cigarettes, and many states have done so. There is litigation on this issue. DTAB has endorsed a proposal to include ENDS as a drug under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. It is another way to ban the product. Even if it is not banned it will come under the jurisdiction of the FDA. There could be sale only at the pharmacies and that too under prescription.

ENDS is a recreational product. Consumers believe e-cigarettes are healthier. The Association of Vapers of India argue that they should be given the freedom to choose. If ENDS could be banned, there is a strong case to ban traditional cigarettes too.

The solution is to have regulation, rather than an outright ban which will push the whole thing in the grey market. There are many countries which have legislations to regulate ENDS.

In e-cigarettes, apart from nicotine, there are flavourings,  additives, propylene glycol and glycerol. These are considered harmless on inhalation.

However, there are harmful effects of nicotine which affects central nervous system, digestive system and circulatory system. Nicotine too has the carcinogenic potential. There is risk of addiction. It affects the way the synapses are formed and can harm the parts of the brain that control learning and is responsible for decision-making and impulse control.

Vapes are a little larger than an e-cigarette. It has a longer battery-life, and uses a rechargeable module. E-hookahs, like e-cigarettes, allow the user to inhale vapour that may contain nicotine, other flavours and chemicals.

Vaping is considered safer since the tobaco in cigarette has tar and nitrosamines. Tar contains carcinogenic chemicals.