Despite ban, E-cigarettes readily available in Hyderabad: Survey 

The field investigators, who undertook the rapid survey in Hyderabad, observed that E-cigarettes were sold without age verification and even available online

Hyderabad: A rapid survey taken up by Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI), a nonprofit involved in spreading awareness on harmful impact of tobacco usage, has revealed that despite a ban, E-cigarettes are readily available for children below 18 years in Hyderabad.

The field investigators, who undertook the rapid survey, observed that E-cigarettes were sold without age verification, they were getting delivered in a day or two when ordered online, were available through tobacco vendors near educational institutions, a press release said.

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The key findings of the survey also indicated that most of the vendors were not aware of the law banning E-cigarettes and were openly selling it and E-cigarettes that are being sold were mostly manufactured in China. A few website that were selling online, asked for age verification, which merely required ticking a checkbox that asked whether the user was 18 years or above.

“The ban on electronic cigarette was introduced to protect our younger generation from a new form of toxic addiction. However, its enforcement has been weak, resulting in market being flooded with cheap and unbranded Chinese make E-cigarettes,” says Bhavna Mukopadhyay, Chief Executive, VHAI.