Market & legal data in the tobacco alternatives sector in India

21st February 2025: India: The Indian government may increase the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on tobacco products, currently taxed at 28%. One of the options under consideration is to increase the GST to 40% – the highest amount permissible – and add an excise duty on top, according to press reports.
12th February 2025: India: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued a new advisory about the ban on e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products (HTPs), and other electronic nicotine delivery systems. Authorities are required to prevent the sale, manufacture, and advertisement of these products, including online. This directive aligns with the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA) 2019, and the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2023, underscoring the importance of protecting public health – especially among youth – and ensuring strict enforcement of existing tobacco control regulations.
4th February 2025: India: The Union Budget 2025-26 has introduced a track-and-trace mechanism under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, to curb tax evasion and illicit trade. The Tobacco Institute of India welcomed the move, stating it will help enforcement agencies combat illegal cigarette sales and support the legal industry. The mechanism will require unique, secure, and non-removable identification marks on packages to enhance monitoring. Illicit cigarettes reportedly make up a quarter of the Indian market, causing an estimated INR21,000 ($240) loss in annual tax revenue and harming domestic tobacco farmers. New legal provisions, including penalties for violations, will ensure effective implementation and enforcement.
4th February 2025: India: The finance minister, Nirmala Sitharamant, announced that there will be no increase in the tax rates for tobacco products in the state budget for 2025-26. Anti-tobacco activists have protested as they believe a tax increase could fund de-addiction programmes, health services and other social welfare schemes.
15th January 2025: India: The Delhi High Court has refused to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) that seeks to ban the sale of tobacco products near temples. The court reasoned that the relevant authorities, and not the court itself, hold the legal authority under existing laws, such as the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, to impose new restrictions on the public use and sale of tobacco products.
11th December 2024: India: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India has introduced the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2024, increasing visibility of health warnings, in order to further dissuade the public from tobacco consumption. The new health warnings will be effective from 1st June 2025, and their text and pictures have been updated. The images will rotate and each will be valid for 12 months. These amendments also impose additional compliance requirements on manufacturers and distributors, mandating standardised and updated packaging to ensure consistency across all tobacco products.
9th December 2024: India: Two members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, the ruling party), Shalini Yadav and Shehzad Poonawala, have called for stricter enforcement of anti-tobacco laws, specifically targeting the use of e-cigarettes, vapes, and heated tobacco products among Indian youth. Yadav, a BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh, highlighted issues surrounding the rising prevalence of these products, praising civil society initiatives like Mothers Against Vaping. Similarly, BJP national spokesperson Poonawala highlighted the need for urgent measures to stop the spread of such products. These statements reflect a strong stance by the incumbent party against novel nicotine devices and underline the ruling party's commitment to enforcing the 2019 vaping ban to safeguard public health.
3rd December 2024: India: The Group of Ministers (GoM) on Goods and Services Tax (GST) has proposed raising the GST on tobacco products from 28% to 35%. Currently, tobacco products are taxed at 28% GST – except for tobacco leaves, which are taxed at 5% under a special mechanism. In addition, an extra tax (compensation cess) is already applied to tobacco products on top of the 28%. The GoM is a committee of state-level ministers formed by the GST Council to focus on specific GST-related issues. Its role is to study these issues and recommend changes, but it does not have the power to make final decisions. The final authority on GST policies rests with the GST Council.
6th November 2024: India: The Madras High Court has urged the Union government to ban oral tobacco products – specifically mentioning the snus-like Cool Lip brand – under the Food Safety Act, highlighting the “sudden spurt of children using tobacco”. Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy claims the court is handling “10 cases per day relating to grant of bail in these type of matters”. The Madras High Court is the highest court of the state of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state with more than 70m inhabitants.
28th October 2024: India: A survey from Doctors Against Addiction (DAAD), conducted in partnership with Saizen Global Insights & Consulting, indicates an enhanced tolerance towards harm-reduction products. Survey results highlight the need for updated smoking cessation policies that integrate safer alternatives, reflecting advancements in cessation science and technology. In addition, the survey emphasises the importance of collaboration among healthcare providers, policy-makers, and the private sector for effective patient support.
28th October 2024: India: The states of West Bengal and Chandigarh have extended their ban on the manufacture, storage, sale and distribution of gutka and pan masala containing tobacco and nicotine for another year, effective from 7th November 2024. This extension aligns them with other Indian states – such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Manipur – that have banned tobacco-containing food products due to public health concerns. The ban is based on the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 and on the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Regulations 2011, which prohibit the presence of harmful substances in food products.
23rd October 2024: India: The Manipur government has issued a ban on tobacco-containing food products, press reports. The ban is based on the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 that prohibits the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of food products containing tobacco or nicotine, and on the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011. Both regulations aim to protect public health by prohibiting harmful substances in food products. This ban is an expression of a restrictive approach towards oral tobacco products in India, where there is widespread use of these products.

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