Market & legal data in the tobacco alternatives sector in India

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.
23rd October 2024: India: The Consortium for Tobacco-Free Karnataka (CFTFK) has called for strict enforcement of the law requiring vendor licences for the sale of tobacco products, press reports. This demand follows reports of vendors violating the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) by selling tobacco near educational institutions. Shashi Kumar, general secretary of the Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka, said “enforcing strict implementation of vendor licences will promote compliance with Section 6(b) of COTPA, which prohibits the sale of tobacco within 100 yards of educational institutions” in order to protect children.
22nd October 2024: India: During a review meeting of the “Tobacco Free Youth Campaign 2.0”, officers of the Jharkhand state government and Socio Economic and Educational Development Society (Seeds) discussed an initiative to make all educational facilities in the state tobacco-free under Tobacco Free Educational Institution (ToFEI) guidelines. The executive director of Seeds, Deepak Mishra, affirmed that these guidelines serve as a preventive measure, as minors are often targeted by the tobacco industry.
17th October 2024: India: In the state of Goa and the Papum Pare district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, governments have created tobacco-free zones, aiming to eliminate tobacco use in schools and villages through workshops and awareness programmes. The initiatives highlight the harmful effects of tobacco and emphasise the importance of strict anti-tobacco regulations. The campaigns also incorporate community engagement and social media to spread their message and protect against tobacco industry influence, with the ultimate goal of fostering tobacco-free environments in educational and rural areas.
16th October 2024: India: Deputy commissioner Vishesh Mahajan chaired a District Level Coordination Committee meeting in Reasi district – in India’s northern state of Jammu and Kashmir – which focused on the implementation of the National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP). Mahajan emphasised the importance of enforcing tobacco-free zones around educational institutions, regulating vendor licences, and conducting regular enforcement drives to limit youth access to tobacco.

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