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 Warning of an "epidemic" among young people, India banned sale,
production, import and advertising of e-cigarettes, dealing a blow
to the plans of companies such as Juul Labs and Philip Morris
International to sell the products in the country.
Websites such as Vapestop and Litejoy, which offered vaping products
online, discontinued their operations and ran disclaimers on their
websites related to the government order.
However, it was still possible to purchase vaping devices from the
e-commerce websites of Amazon.com and Flipkart, according to product
listings reviewed by Reuters on Thursday.
Amazon offered a "Honey Badger" vape device, which resembled a USB
flash drive, for 2,799 rupees ($39.35), with flavored vape refills
of mint, butter tobacco, mango and berry. Flipkart also listed the
product.
A Reuters reporter successfully placed an order for the device on
Amazon on Thursday. Other pen-shaped smoking vapes, with a small
liquid bottle, were also available on the e-commerce website.
On vaping devices still being available for sale on Amazon and
Flipkart, senior health ministry official Vikas Sheel said such
products should be removed.
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"Online advertising and sale is banned. E-commerce service providers
should take down the advertisements and sale offers immediately,"
Sheel told Reuters.
When contacted about the product listings, an Amazon spokeswoman in
India said she would provide a comment in due course.
Flipkart said in a statement: "We are aware of the ordinance and
immediately alerted our teams to work with sellers to take all
products off the platform."
On Wednesday, while announcing the ban, India's health ministry said
use of e-cigarettes, which come in attractive appearances and
multiple flavors, had increased exponentially and acquired epidemic
proportions in developed countries, especially among youth and
children.
The ban was issued through an executive order, which has been in
force since Wednesday night, a health ministry spokeswoman said.
(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
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