PANJIM: An NGO working to eradicate tobacco use has urged Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant to ban the sale of e-cigarettes in the State based on the recent recommendation made by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) General Secretary Dr Shekhar Salkar in a letter to Sawant and State Health Minister Vishwajit Rane has pointed out to the recommendations of ICMR making a pitch to ban e-cigarettes in the State.
NOTE and Consumer Voice have earlier submitted many representations with research studies on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) to Central and State governments appealing to ban such devices across India.
In the letter, NOTE has quoted about the recent release of white paper on Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS) which recommends complete prohibition of E-cigarettes in India in the greater interest of protecting public health based on current available data from multiple research.
“These newer forms of addiction are destroying our younger generations. Before it’s too late we request our State government to completely ban e-cigarettes in the larger interest of public health and save our citizens from this nicotine menace,” Salkar said.
According to GATS-2 (Global Adult Tobacco Survey) report 9.7 per cent of adults in Goa consume tobacco in some form. Since E-cigarettes are new emerging threat in the country and are being used to lure youth in the form of nicotine addiction who then slowly gravitate towards tobacco cigarettes the ban on them is urgently needed.
