The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday issued an advisory to state governments to stop the manufacture, sale and import of electronic nicotine delivery systems or ENDS, including e-cigarettes, vape, e-sheesha, e-nicotine flavoured hookah, and heat-not-burn devices.

Punjab, Karnataka, Mizoram, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh already prohibit the sale, manufacture, distribution and import, and the ministry wants other states to follow. The ministry said that electronic nicotine delivery systems are particularly harmful for children, adolescents, pregnant women and women of reproductive age.

The ministry said that ENDS aerosol contains nicotine – the addictive component of tobacco products. “In addition to creating dependence, nicotine can have adverse effects on the development of the foetus during pregnancy,” the advisory said. “It may contribute to cardiovascular disease to the people who use ENDS. Also, nicotine may function as a ‘tumour promoter’ and seems to be involved in the biology of malignant diseases.”

The ministry’s advisory comes a week after the Delhi High Court ordered it to take regulatory measures to control the sale of e-cigarettes, reported Down to Earth. The case in the Delhi High Court is listed for hearing on September 7.