Sreemoyee.Chatterjee@timesgroup.comBengaluru: After electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), electronic deodorized drugs (e-drugs) have become a new headache for the state police as they are unable to track their inflow into the market. Youngsters are hoodwinking enforcement authorities by vaping cannabis, hashish, Lysergic Acid Diathylamide (LSD) and other drugs available in liquid form through e-cigarettes, police confirmed.The High Powered Committee of Tobacco Control, Karnataka, and police are on an alert against increasing use of electronic drugs in Udupi, Bengaluru and Mysuru and other areas with huge student population.“As it has become almost impossible to track and control the flow of e-drugs, those prone to substance abuse are taking advantage of the situation. They are using e-drugs as there’s lesser chances of detection compared to packaged drugs. E-drug has been a problem abroad for long. Now India and Karnataka too are getting affected. It’s difficult to curb the flow of electronic drugs as they are purchased online and delivered through courier,” Bhaskar Rao, additional director general of police, Crime, said. Karnataka police are contemplating initiating a dialogue with an e-commerce portal to find a way out to track the inflow of e-drugs into the market.The use of e-cigarettes and e-drugs leaves no trail as they don’t need to be lit and don’t produce ash and this only helps in evading vigil by parents or teachers.“Drugs such as hash, cannabis or LSD are entering the market in liquid form---completely hidden from the enforcement agency. Nicotine used in liquid form is being imported and freely distributed without obtaining licence from the drug controller. E-drugs pose a new challenge to the public, especially parents and teachers to be vigilant and to law enforcers towards stronger punitive actions,” said Dr Vishal Rao, oncologist and member of the High Powered Committee of Tobacco Control, Karnataka.Ironically e-cigarette was initially launched to encourage smokers to quit tobacco. “But a recent systematic review of 38 studies in the Lancet journal shows the odds of quitting cigarettes were 28% lower in those using e-cigarettes compared to those who did not use it to quit smoking. They recommend not promoting e-cigarette for smoking cessation as it has become a discreet method of consuming drugs,” he added.Kripa Alva, chairman of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said: “There’s a rise in e-drug users as it is available at a click of a button. There’s no record of e-drug users as the exchange is done discreetly, hence cannot be tracked. A more vigilant police department and crackdown on the e-drugs market with an iron fist are required to overcome this challenge.”Deadly consequencesCity doctors dismiss as misconception the belief that vaporizing cannabinoids at lower temperatures is safer because it produces smaller amounts of toxic substances than the hot combustion of a marijuana cigarette.“These psychoactive drugs are either stimulants or downers (sedative) or psychedelics and hallucinogens. While these drugs can make you feel relaxed and happy for short duration, the long-term consequences on the central nervous system are debilitating. Addicts feel severe withdrawal, lethargic, violent, anxious and paranoid or even psychotic. Social and family life is completely disrupted and most require rehab care. Overdose can lead to death,” Dr Vishal Rao, oncologist and member of the High Powered Committee of Tobacco Control, Karnataka, said.“Memory loss, schizophrenia and other mental disorders are also commonly found in drug users. Suicidal tendencies are common among them as they are victims of withdrawal, depression or severe anxiety. Its impact on families is disturbing; it disrupts relationships and social balance,” he added.