The Battle Against E-Cigarettes: Health Ministry Issues Notices to 15 Websites

The Union Health Ministry has sent notices to 15 websites selling e-cigarettes directing them to stop advertisement and sale of the products. 

As per media reports, the Union Health Ministry has recently issued notices to 15 websites involved in the sale of e-cigarettes, a product that is banned in India. The notices explicitly direct the websites to immediately cease any activities related to advertising and selling e-cigarettes. 

Furthermore, the ministry is also actively monitoring the promotion and sale of e-cigarettes on various social media platforms. The Union Health Ministry has identified six websites that are currently kept on radar. These websites are suspected of being involved in the advertisement and sale of e-cigarettes. It is considering issuing notices to relevant social media sites in the near future to address this issue. 

Out of the 15 websites that have already received a "takedown notice," an official source has reported that four of them have ceased their operations in response to the notice. However, the remaining websites have not yet responded to the notice.

"If they don't respond and comply with the law, the health ministry will write to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for taking down these websites,” media reports said.

 As per the information received, legal action will be taken against the identified websites in accordance with the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Act, which came into force in the year 2019.

The notice issued by the health ministry to the websites states that the online advertisement and sale of illegal e-cigarettes are in violation of Section 4 of the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act. The notice maintains that the identified websites have been hosting, displaying, publishing, transmitting, and sharing such unlawful information on their platforms.

Under section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act), and in accordance with a government notification dated November 15, 2021, the health ministry is authorised to direct the websites to disable access to or remove any identified information. It states that this action must be taken without tampering with or compromising any evidence related to the matter.

The notice informs that failure to comply with the directive may be deemed as aiding or abetting the transmission of unlawful information or engaging in unlawful activity. It further states that the websites may face prosecution for hosting such information, data, or communication links.

Importantly, the notice emphasises that the failure to take necessary action may result in penalties under the IT Act and/or the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act.

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