Rajasthan High Court Issues Notice On Law Student's PIL Seeking Directions To Stop Sale, Use, Consumption & Possession Of E-Cigarettes

The PIL was filed by Priyansha Gupta, a fourth-year law student at School of Law, Bennett University. The petitioner stated that she has conducted exhaustive research and has thoroughly examined the actions taken by the State to eradicate the problem of the usage of electronic cigarettes in the country.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice S.S. Shinde and Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand, observed,

"Heard petitioner in person. Issue notice to the respondents, returnable on 29.07.2022. In addition, 'dasti' service is permitted."

The court also granted liberty to the petitioner to serve a copy of the petition upon the Standing Counsels for respective respondents.

The petitioner also sought direction for appointment of a high-level committee to monitor and review the progress made by the Central and the State government in effective implementation of the provisions of Act of 2019 in its letter and spirit. She sought direction to the Central government to issue such Rules/Regulations that may be used in the proper implementation.

A direction was also sought to the Director General of Police, Rajasthan to ensure that the offenders under the provisions of Act of 2019 are duly identified and brought to justice.

The petitioner informed that a Legal Notice to the respondents was sent on 01.06.2022 and immediately thereafter on 13.07.2022 the present PIL was filed.

The plea states that the Act of 2019 was enacted in the interest of public health to protect the people from the harms of Electronic Cigarettes. However, as per the plea, even after the enactment, the Central, as well as the State Government, has miserably failed in implementing the prohibition of E Cigarettes as it is widely and easily available in the market.

The plea also alleged that right to life includes the right to a decent environment, free from smoke and pollution followed by the 'quality' of life which is inherent in the guarantee offered by Article 21. Thus, as per the plea, the usage of e-cigarettes is highly injurious to the life cycle and the ecosystem, hence violative of Article 21 of the Constitution.

Further, the plea states that RTI replies received from the office of the Additional Director General of Police, Rajasthan revealed that despite open and clear-cut violation of the provisions of the Act of 2019 within the territorial jurisdiction of the said office, not a single case has been registered by the police in this regard.

In addition to this, the plea says,

"The youth and the young adults of today's India are consuming E-cigarettes on a vast level majorly in the form of vapes. For them, it is no "big deal" to get an E-cigarette or any other vaping device and the ban "doesn't matter" for them as any person can easily get an e-cigarette by a simple google search, or any online website or any paan shop nearby."

Further, as per the plea, the petitioner was astonished and amazed when she herself found out and saw with her bare eyes that the teenagers of the age between 13 to 15 were using these vapes near World Trade Park, Gaurav Towers, SMS Stadium etc. Young Adults and Youth were consuming different flavours of these vapes like in the form of mango, raspberry, blueberry et cetra, added the plea.

Moreover, the plea points out that a "vape," or electronic cigarette, is a device that heats up a liquid to create a vapour one inhales. It adds that this liquid delivers nicotine, marijuana, or other drugs to the user via a mouthpiece that is inhaled into the lungs and then expelled via the mouth or nose. The plea states that the use of Nicotine as an ingredient in any food item is prohibited under regulation 2.3.4. of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations, 2011 of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006

The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention states that E-cigarettes are sometimes called "e-cigs," "e-hookahs," "mods," "vape pens," "vapes," "tank systems," and "electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).", added the plea

It was also added in the plea that even after the prohibition on e-cigarettes, people can buy e-cigarettes from any paan shop or from the internet. The plea notes a list of websites and adds that there are many more websites that are selling electronic cigarettes in different forms illegally and causing a lot of hazardous problems to the public at large.

Referring to a 2019 notification issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare which imposed prohibition of e-cigarettes, the petitioner argued, "That even after issuing such orders by the Government, there is no stoppage in the production, usage, import, export, sell of the e-cigarettes". The plea also refers to the circular of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, which was issued to implement the prohibition effectively and properly by keeping a strict check on the import and export of e-cigarettes.

The matter is next listed on 29.07.2022.

The petitioner appeared in-person before the court.

Case Title: Priyansha Gupta v. Union Of India

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