Raising concern over the growing normalisation of vaping among children and adolescents, Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Thursday said rising violations linked to vaping, including cases involving influencers and public figures, must be raised more strongly in Parliament and tackled through stricter enforcement.
Speaking at a national seminar organised by Mothers against Vaping (MAV) ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, Maliwal warned that vaping was emerging as a “new-age gateway addiction”, with sleek designs, flavours and social media visibility making such products appear aspirational and harmless to young users.
“The biggest danger lies in the invisibility and normalisation of these products among adolescents. These devices are designed to appear fashionable, harmless and socially acceptable to children and teenagers, while hiding a serious public health threat,” Maliwal said.
Referring to the increasing public visibility of vaping despite a nationwide ban, she said influencers promoting vape culture online, public figures seen vaping and violations in public spaces were sending a dangerous message to young people.
India enacted the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA), 2019, banning the production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of e-cigarettes and similar devices. Despite the ban, vapes remain easily available in the capital, with youngsters openly using them in markets, cafés and social spaces.
At the seminar, experts identified the continued supply of such products despite the law as a major concern. Maliwal listed five major risks linked to vaping and novel nicotine products — damage to adolescent brain development, severe lung injury, cardiovascular complications, exposure to carcinogenic substances and rising nicotine dependency among teenagers.
The seminar, titled “Unmasking the Appeal: Protecting Children from New-Age Gateway Products”, brought together experts from healthcare, science, education, law enforcement and public policy to discuss the growing threat posed by vaping devices, nicotine pouches and synthetic nicotine products.
Dr Shalini Singh, Director and Scientist at the National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, ICMR, said many studies portraying vaping as a “safer alternative” were influenced by tobacco industry-linked interests.
“When ICMR independently reviewed the available scientific data and excluded studies affected by conflicts of interest, we found strong scientific merit in banning this entire class of products,” she said.
