India bans e-cigarettes in setback for Juul and Philip Morris (updated)

Godfrey Phillips India

18/09/2019 12:09

(Adds details, context)
    By Aftab Ahmed and Aditya Kalra
    NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (Reuters) - India banned the production,
import and sale of electronic cigarettes on Wednesday, a public
health decision that will dash the expansion plans of companies
such as Juul Labs and Philip Morris International  PM.N  in the
country.
    The ban will be imposed through an executive order and will
include jail terms of up to three years for offenders.
    India's health ministry, which proposed the ban, had said it
was needed to ensure e-cigarettes don't become an "epidemic"
among children and young adults.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N25I2VA 
    "Considering the seriousness of the impact of e-cigarettes
on the youth, the cabinet has approved an ordinance to ban
e-cigarettes," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told a news
conference. 
    India has 106 million adult smokers, second only to China in
the world, making it a lucrative market for firms making
e-cigarettes such as Juul and Philip Morris. 
    While announcing the ban, Sitharaman showed various types of
products to the media, including a pack of Juul e-cigarettes, .
    Juul had plans to launch its e-cigarette in India and has
hired several senior executives in recent months. Philip Morris
also has plans to launch its heat-not-burn smoking device in
India, Reuters has reported.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1ZU40E
    A spokeswoman for Juul in India declined to comment. Philip
Morris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 (Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Aftab Ahmed; Additional
reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and
Pravin Char)
 ((aditya.kalra@thomsonreuters.com; +91-011-49548021; Reuters
Messaging: aditya.kalra.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net (Twitter:
@adityakalra))