New Delhi, September 19: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced that the Union Cabinet has given its approval to ban e-cigarettes. The Union Finance Minister also made it clear that the ban on e-cigarettes means a ban on the production, manufacturing, import/export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertising related to e-cigarettes. The decision by the government comes days after the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) had appealed to the government to ban e-cigarettes or vaping products in India. The Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) had requested the ban on production and sale of e-cigarettes and met Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal with their demand. Is Vaping Safer than Smoking? 4 Important Questions Answered About Electronic Cigarettes.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman also cited reports saying that "there are some who are probably getting into the habit of e-cigarettes as it seems cool. It is believed that there are more than 400 brands, none of which is manufactured yet in India. And they come in over 150 flavours." Vaping in Wedding Photos Is the Latest Dangerous Trend Going Viral (View Pics).

Read FM Nirmala Sitharaman's Comment in the Tweet Below

Preeti Sudan, Secretary Health and Family Welfare, also said that, "the punishment proposed is imprisonment up to 1 year or a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh, or both for the first offence and imprisonment of 3 years or a fine up to Rs 5 lakhs or both, for subsequent offence. E-hookahs are also included."

Jagjit Singh Dallewala, speaking on behalf of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) on Tuesday, said that, "If e-cigarettes are allowed in India, it will have a devastating effect on the tobacco farmers in India. The main reason is that the e-cigarette companies who are trying to open shops in India are of foreign origin and do not use Indian tobacco. In fact, the countries that these e-cigarettes belong to, like the US, have also banned them." Jagjit Singh Dallewala of the BKU said in a statement on Tuesday. The BKU is an organization affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and a member of the Sangh Parivar.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 18, 2019 03:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).