CHANDIGARH: Food and drugs administration ( FDA ), Punjab, has issued a fresh circular prohibiting sale of e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn (HNB) devices. The circular has been issued following an advisory by the Union ministry of health and family welfare on electronic nicotine delivery systems including e-cigarettes, HNB devices, e-nicotine and flavoured hookah FDA commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu said Punjab was the first state in India to declare electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS)/e-cigarettes as unapproved under Drugs and Cosmetics Act in 2013. The online sale was also prohibited by cyber crime wing Punjab in 2016. “We have issued a fresh circular prohibiting sale or import of electronic cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco devices,” Pannu said.Dr Rakesh Gupta, who ran a campaign against e-cigarettes and HNB tobacco devices, said there are ample scientific evidence available about the harms of such devices. “Such devices are a great health risk and it is possible that children and non-smokers using such products could switch to cigarettes once they get addicted to nicotine,” said Dr Gupta.Even though Punjab is the only state where violators have been awarded conviction in two different cases under Drugs and Cosmetics Act for sale of e-cigarettes, their use which is also called vaping has increase among teenagers. Seizures have been made from time to time in various districts with most recent being in Amritsar wherein four e-cigarettes were seized in July 2018. Other seizures have been made in Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangrur, Mohali, Hoshiarpur and Mansa.