The Union Health Ministry, under new Health Minister JP Nadda, has recommended a ban on the sale of loose cigarettes, as well as an increase in the minimum age for smoking from 18 to 25 years.

Health minister JP Nadda in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha said the ministry has accepted the recommendations of the committee, which was formed by the ministry, to review Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA). Apart from this, increasing penalties for smoking in public places has also been recommended. Though the ban on smoking in public places was put in place on October 2, 2008, violations continue to take place. The government may also ban branding on cigarette packets.

The previous Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan had also called for a ban on electronic cigarettes, claiming these pushed children towards tobacco by making them nicotine dependent.