The overseas e-cigarette media Filter reported on the life of e-cigarette advocates under the ban in India, and talked about the current situation of e-cigarettes in India under the ban. The following is the full text.

At the end of 2019, the Indian government issued a ban on vaping products. Originally announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and passed by Parliament months later, the decree prohibits not only the sale, manufacture and distribution of e-cigarettes, but also the import, export, transport, storage and advertising of e-cigarettes.

Sitharaman presented the move in the usual context — young people are trying too much, or at least doing it — even saying "unfortunately, vaping was originally marketed as a way for people to break out of their habit. "There is a lot of evidence that e-cigarettes are safer than smoking, and many people have successfully used e-cigarettes to quit deadly cigarettes.

India's ban also has serious consequences. The first violation is punishable by up to one year in prison and a $1,400 fine; additional convictions can result in up to five years in prison and a $7,000 fine.

Since then, the outlook for Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) has dimmed. And blanket bans seem to be getting worse: by February 2020, for example, Indian aviation authorities banned passengers from carrying vaping products on planes; as a result, Indian citizens cannot legally travel to countries where vaping is allowed and return with stash .

The crackdown on global THR cannot be overstated.

As of 2018, about 12% of the world's 1 billion smokers lived in India, or about 14% of the country's population, or 120 million smokers. But once any form of tobacco use is taken into account, such as the ubiquitous bidis (unmanufactured tobacco rolled in leaves) or gutka (chewing tobacco), tobacco use in India soars all the way to 29%, After China, it has become the second largest consumer of tobacco in the world.

Indian consumer advocates have been fighting the ban as much as they can - lobbying the government, educating tobacco users, and exploring any legal options available.

One of the most famous is Jagannath Sarangapani, an entrepreneur living in Hyderabad. When he switched to e-cigarettes, he broke his habit of smoking 40 times a day, which sparked his passion.

He is a member of the Indian Vaping Association (AVI) and a board member of INNCO (International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organizations), supporting the rights and well-being of those who wish to use safer nicotine alternatives.

Filter spoke with Sarangapani about the current state of THR in India and what the future holds.

Kiran Sidhu: Can you describe your personal journey in tobacco harm reduction?

Jagannath Sarangapani: I used to be a smoker and it was a habit I developed in my later years. I'm about 27, and soon I was smoking 40 cigarettes a day at 28; if I went out drinking, the number was much higher. A friend and I have been talking about quitting smoking together, so I started with nicotine gum. It never worked. Then I tried the patch and I didn't like it, but it reduced the number of cigarettes I smoked to one a day - and I went straight back to 40. I have tried many things!

On my birthday in 2015, my friend and I were seriously trying to quit smoking and we came across e-cigarettes. That night, we ordered a kit. The day I received my e-cigarette was the day I quit smoking: I went from 40 cigarettes to zero. This was seven years ago. No one actually introduced me to e-cigarettes; it was just my own investigation. So my friends and I started a vaping group. We use our personal knowledge of e-cigarettes to give people advice on quitting smoking.

I've gotten healthier since vaping. I can taste my food better and I don't eat as much salt anymore. I don't need to take the blood pressure medicine I took before, just run 5 kilometers.

Can you tell us a little bit about the prevalence and culture of different forms of tobacco use in India?

Smokers in India are actually a small minority. The most important thing here is bidis, the rolled leaves contain tobacco and other rubbish. Bidis are popular among rural and lower middle classes in India. We also have snus users and chewing tobacco - these are big ones. If you look at the statistics, you will see that the percentage of smokers is very small. In India, cigarettes are taxed by size, so the shorter the cigarette, the lower the tax.

How did you get involved in national THR advocacy?

In 2019, we heard that vaping might be banned. By then, our vaping community already had more structure. We are better organized. We felt the ban needed a serious response, so we organized a nationwide protest with AVI (Indian Vaping Association) involving six cities across the country. We have placards that say things like end the vaping ban. This is all over social media and is being reported by the media. We used the hashtags #RegulateDontBan and #VapingSavesLives.

In your opinion, what are the reasons behind the ban on e-cigarettes in India?

Former Federal Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan was very anti-tobacco, which was fine, but he believed vaping was the worst thing ever. At the time, he was also Chairman of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization. Reports that Juul, one of the world's leading e-cigarette brands, is entering the Indian market is a knee-jerk reaction. ITC [India's largest cigarette maker] certainly feels the threat. Then came the EVALI scare, which was misrepresented by almost every news station in the world.

Government talks teen vaping - on how bans can protect teens. But the kids are curious. How many kids have tried smoking! Consider this: For a child, they need 2,500 rupees [about $31] to buy an e-cigarette. That's a lot of money. But you can buy a cigarette for 15 rupees [about 19 cents].

Shares in ITC are held by India's National Insurance and General Insurance, both of which are owned by the government. Can you trust a life insurance company to own a stake in a cigarette company? The day the ban was announced, ITC's share price soared, which would not have happened without the ban. It allows you to infer that the ban was pushed by tobacco companies that felt threatened.

What are the dangers of banning e-cigarettes in India?

Really sad. I know a lot of vapers who are now back to smoking. They don't want to deal with the black market to buy e-cigarettes. Since you have to buy e-cigarettes from the black market, there are no regulations. You can't be sure what you get.

Bans are a human rights issue. I have choices, autonomy, privacy and health. All of these have been hacked. Then there is the right to know. India does have a Right to Information Act. This is diluted. The government has banned research into tobacco harm reduction. At the same time, they also said that there is not enough research and evidence for THR products!

What are the vaping groups doing for the movement for change?

We have AVI and I'm one of them. We try to challenge. We engage with politicians from both the ruling and opposition parties. We write to them about developments in science, hoping we can raise enough awareness that we can then have a meaningful debate on THR. Our efforts peaked during the anniversary of the vape barn and World Vape Day.

Does the current legal status of e-cigarettes create specific difficulties for THR advocacy efforts?

We face serious challenges. I still get asked where I can get e-cigarettes. They want to quit smoking. I can tell them about vaping, inform them and discuss it - but I can't tell them where to get it.

Ordinary people in India know very little about THR. The ban suddenly tells the nation that there is something called e-cigarettes. Only a few people know about e-cigarettes and are making the transition from smokers to vapers. We really don't have much choice. We have lozenges and nicotine tablets that you can put on your tongue. These products are finding their way into medical stores. I keep these in my pocket in case my vape gets confiscated.

Many doctors have cognitive problems. They believe that nicotine causes cancer. They didn't understand that it was tar and smoke. Of course, people trust their doctors. We have AHRER (Association for Harm Reduction Education and Research), a body of medical professionals that talks about harm reduction.

Dr. Shree Sucharitha has done a great job in raising awareness of tobacco harm reduction. Other doctors are blind to the alternatives. Like they put a paper bag over their heads.

How do you see things developing? Is there any hope of improvement?

We need to see what other countries are doing. We need to engage internationally. E-cigarettes are banned in the United Arab Emirates. They have now lifted the ban.

The Indian Council of Medical Research has compiled a number of research papers in which they have carefully selected the information and research they have published. This needs to be challenged. The only way to challenge this is through the courts. Thankfully, the judiciary is still largely independent, so we do have hope.