Haider Ali Khan

Vape ban isn't working (anywhere in India). In lighter vien, this article appears seeded by ecig vendors as now everyone knows where to buy vapes, what variants are available, and how much they cost. hindustantimes.com/cities/lu…

Criminalising nicotine users (including those switching to vaping to reduce harm & quit smoking) is inhumane and will fail like the war on drug users. @UNHumanRights and @UNODC must step in to prevent this new WHO/FCTC-led violation of basic rights. e.vnexpress.net/news/news/vi…

Took WHO/FCTC +20 yrs to think of tobacco users. Wrong priorities, which is why users still over 1bn. Even then it skipped the most effective & used cessation products. Total disconnect from reality. @WHO @FCTCofficial @JPNadda @mohfw_India @NITIAayog who.int/news/item/02-07-2024…

Most of India's 27 crore (270 mn) tobacco users will likely die early; access to less toxic alternatives is critical to them. We request parties to consider & speak about tobacco harm reduction policies. #righttohealth @narendramodi @MamataOfficial @RahulGandhi @yadavakhilesh

Key to note vaping is NOT included in this ban (bit.ly/3vkTP2l). End of smoking is in sight, but @narendramodi ji has been fooled by the former health minister into banning the safer option itself. Still we can change course. @mansukhmandviya indiatoday.in/world/story/uk…

Evidence grows stronger that e-cigarettes are much safer than smoking, lot more effective than NRTs. प्रमाण बढ़ते जा रहे हैं कि ई-सिगरेट धूम्रपान की तुलना में कहीं कम हानिकारक है, एनआरटी से कहीं अधिक प्रभावी है। @spsinghbaghelpr @mohfw_India @icmrdelhi @DghsIndia @imaIndiaorg

It is unfortunate the court has failed to recognise genuine consumer interest in this litigation and wanted to impose a six-figure penalty for challenging criminalisation of people who have quit smoking through vaping. Our response: 1) We learn this writ was filed to oppose Union health ministry's ad hoc claim that possession of vapes is banned, which if allowed to stand, criminalises atleast 20 lakh (2mn) Indians for trying to reduce harm (our estimate is based on modest 35% annual increase – 60% is considered avg in emerging markets – from 2016 GATS 2 which found 2.6 lakh vapers). Vapes are now available in every small town of India. 2) The 'cost to society' from tobacco use is over 1% of India's GDP and 13.5 lakh deaths/year. Smokers struggle to quit: 95% quit attempts fail. E-cigarettes (vaping) are not only a 95% safer substitute (UK govt), they are 2x more effective than NRTs in helping smokers quit (Cochrane Review). Transitioning India's 12 crore (120mn) smokers to vaping – UK is giving free vapes to 10 lakh (1mn) smokers to help them quit – will significantly reduce cost to society. 3) The respected judge said assurances not to criminalise people who vape, given verbally in Parliament by then health minister and thereafter through circulars by Union health and home ministries, was an interim relief. We find this to be again an ad hoc interpretation since if that was really the intent it could well have been codified in the law. It wasn't. From which date did possession become illegal? Under which Act? Are we a nation of rule of law or a banana republic where an additional health secretary can overnight decide 20 lakh Indians are criminals? 4) What is the punishment for this crime? Do we have the right to know, or are we subject to police harassment and paying whatever bribe cops demand as there have been innumerable instances of vapers having to pay from Rs 2,000 to Rs 1 lakh in bribes. We find it disheartening the court refused to even engage on this point of law and instead sought to penalise the petitioner itself for raising the issue. 5) We believe this could have only been possible if the respected judge was convinced the litigation was proxy led by commercial interests of the tobacco/vaping industry. This is a genuine concern as most cases involving tobacco have indeed been found to be industry led. But do consumers have to pay the price? 6) Finally, does anyone realise how weird this situation is – all manners of toxic tobacco products, from pan masala, gutka to smuggled cigarettes like Esse are banned for sale in India, but only the 'users' of e-cigarettes, the least deadly of them all, have been deemed to be committing a crime? We have also learnt the original petitions challenging the ban on carrying e-cigarettes on flights were to be heard the next day in Delhi HC, but have been adjourned to Feb 13 as the respondents (the aviation authority) failed to turn up. Hence, the headline of this article is incorrect as the issue is yet to be settled. @arjunrammeghwal @ICLU_Ind @barcouncilindia @barandbench @LiveLawIndia @kharge @digvijaya_28 @FCTCofficial @RSSorg @NitishKumar @mamataofficial @ArvindKejriwal @UNHumanRights @MalathyIyerTOI @RamblingBrook @TOIEditor @ETHealthWorld @thewire_in @ANI @PTI_News livelaw.in/high-court/delhi-…

Over half million fewer US teens vape than a year ago, which shows this isn't a systemic problem & can be handled with sensible regulation instead of bans that deny risk reduction to all adult smokers. @PMOIndia @HMOIndia @mohfw_India @mansukhmandviya fda.gov/news-events/press-an…

Less nicotine in a cigarette doesn't mean less harm as nic is not causing cancers, it's combustion. NRTs have nic too. Less nic will infact make smokers smoke more to compensate, increasing harm. @mohfw_India @csir_Ind @Indiatoday @PMOIndia indiatoday.in/india-today-in…

We wholly support any intiative to dissuade non-smoking youth from using e-cigarettes. But we also want India's 120mn smokers to have access to risk-reduced alternatives, especially those who can't or don't want to quit using nicotine. @thinkchangefor dailypioneer.com/2023/india/…

Finding a balance that provides access to safer choices for current smokers while deterring non-smokers from initiation is crucial, writes Dr Ziaul Huq from Bangladesh. @mohfw_India dhakatribune.com/opinion/323…