The union cabinet  on Wednesday endorsed an order to prohibit the country's e-cigarettes and e-hookahs. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, briefing journalists after a meeting of the union cabinet, said the choice was made to safeguard citizens ' health."The Union Cabinet has given the approval to ban e-cigarettes. It means the production, manufacturing, import/export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertising related to e-cigarettes are banned," She  said.

The 2019 Electronic Cigarette Prohibition Ordinance has penal clauses including imprisonment for first and repeat offense.