India on Wednesday banned sale, production, import and distribution of electronic cigarettes.
Making the announcement on Wednesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted how e-cigarettes are being used as a "style statement".
The ban was necessary to ensure e-cigarettes don't become an "epidemic" among children and young adults, she added.
Health officials have proposed jail terms of up to three years, with a penalty of up to ₹5 lakh (around AED 25,700), for repeat offenders.
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India capped airfares on Saturday as hundreds of passengers gathered outside Bengaluru and Mumbai airports after IndiGo cancelled 385 flights on the fifth day of a crisis at the country's biggest airline that has crippled air travel.
Pakistan, Afghanistan border clashes kill 5, officials say
Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged heavy fire along their border late on Friday, officials from both countries said, killing at least five people amid heightened tensions following failed peace talks last weekend.
Gaza talks at critical moment, ceasefire not complete, Qatar's PM says
Negotiations on consolidating the US-backed truce in the war in Gaza are at a "critical" moment, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Saturday.
Indonesians climb over logs in walk to aid centre as flood deaths rise over 900
Residents in the Indonesian region of Aceh Tamiang climbed over slippery logs and walked for about an hour on Saturday to get aid, as the death toll from floods and landslides that hit Sumatra island this month rose to more than 900 people.
Russian drones, missiles hit railway hub near Ukraine's capital
A railway hub near Kyiv was attacked during a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack that damaged the depot and railway carriages, Ukrainian state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia said on Saturday.
