Police will soon tighten the noose around e-cigarette sellers in Jharkhand and send samples of the flavored refills for lab test following rumours about the use of drugs in these refills sold openly in smalltime shops across various districts.
“We will identify the shops that sell e-cigarettes and send samples for lab tests. Only thorough investigation can give us an insight on the contents of the refills,” said Anup Birtharey, Senior Superintendent of Police, East Singbhum.
An e-cigarette is a handheld electronic device that stimulates the feeling of smoking in users. It is said to cause fewer health hazards than smoking tobacco and the act of smoking an e-cigarette is called vaping.
The device works by heating a liquid filled in it, which produces aerosol that looks like smoke. There are nicotine-free refills too available for these devices.
The liquid refills, which come in different flavours ranging from strawberry to mint, are usually made outside India. When an e-cigarette user takes a drag, this liquid gets heated and flavoured aerosol is released.
Rajnish Kumar, a member of the State Advisory Committee on Disability Management and Organ Transplant, informed the police about the risks of such rampant sale of e-cigarettes in the market and claimed that the refills used for the devices may even contain drugs to get teenagers addicted.
In an informal complaint to senior police officials across Jharkhand, he expressed concern over the use of e-cigarettes by school children.
“The principal of a reputed school in Jamshedpur showed me the refills and the devices that were recovered from students during checks. I am sure that the refill has some or the other addictive ingredient, which could also be dangerous for the children,” said Kumar, adding that a thorough investigation in the e-cigarette business was a must to protect the youth from its addiction.
Ranchi Senior Superintendent of Police, Anish Gupta also received an informal complaint from Kumar and said that the city police will put a scanner on e-cigarette sellers in the state capital.
“We will have to verify the claims and certainly take necessary actions,” Gupta said.
In August, 2018, the Union Health ministry had asked all states and union territories to impose a ban on e-cigarettes owing to the health hazards it causes to children, adolescents and women of reproductive age.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had pulled up the centre for delaying a regulation on the sale of e-cigarettes across the country.
However, in Jharkhand the sale of these devices continues unabated. They are easily available at roadside stalls and smalltime shops near schools, colleges and coaching institutes.