Daily Current Affairs

October 8, 2025

Current Affairs

E-Cigarettes and the Rising Health Risks

Context: According to WHO’s first global estimate of e-cigarette use (2024), teenagers are nine times more likely to vape than adults, raising major public health concerns worldwide.

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About E-Cigarettes:

  • E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that heat a liquid into an inhalable aerosol.
  • The liquid typically contains nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerin, flavouring agents, and other chemicals.
  • Known as vape pens, ENDS (Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems), or ENNDS (Electronic Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems).
  • Though they may not contain tobacco, they often deliver addictive nicotine doses similar to conventional cigarettes.

WHO’s Key Findings (2024):

  • 15 million teenagers (13–15 yrs) use e-cigarettes globally.
  • Youth are 9× more likely to vape than adults.
  • Total vapers: over 100 million, including 86 million adults (mostly in high-income nations).
  • Tobacco use declined from 1.38 billion (2000) → 1.2 billion (2024).
  • Regional trends:
    • Southeast Asia: Male tobacco use fell from 70% → 37% (2000–2024).
    • Europe: Now the highest tobacco prevalence (24.1%) globally.

Legal Framework in India:

The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019

  • Complete Ban: Prohibits production, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage, and advertisement of e-cigarettes.
  • Penalties:
    • Manufacture/sale/advertisement → Imprisonment up to 1 year or ₹1 lakh fine (first offence); up to 3 years or ₹5 lakh (repeat offence).
    • Storage → Up to 6 months jail or ₹50,000 fine.
  • Exemption: Permitted only for research and testing purposes.

Implementation Challenges in India:

  • Online Accessibility: Over 60% of e-cigarette products remain available on e-commerce platforms (Voluntary Health Association of India, 2023).
  • Youth Appeal: Flavoured variants and influencer marketing target adolescents.
  • Lack of Support Systems: Only 1 in 5 tobacco users has access to quitting support or therapy (GATS 2022).
  • Product Evasion: New disposable or flavoured devices enter India through unregulated channels.

Way Forward:

Digital Surveillance: Deploy AI-based systems to monitor illegal online sales (like the EU’s Track & Trace model).

Youth Awareness: Launch anti-vaping campaigns under the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP)—similar to New Zealand’s Vape-Free Schools.
Quit Support Expansion: Strengthen helplines like mCessation, which has helped over 3 million users attempt quitting.

Inter-Agency Coordination: Form a Nicotine Product Enforcement Task Force involving MoHFW, IT Ministry, and Customs.

Port of Pasni: Pakistan’s New Geostrategic Maritime Gambit

Context: In a significant geopolitical development, Pakistan has proposed allowing the United States to build and operate a commercial deep-water port at Pasni, Balochistan. The move is aimed at exporting critical minerals such as copper and rare earths, marking a strategic shift in Pakistan’s foreign and economic policy posture.

About the Port of Pasni

The Port of Pasni is a small but strategic deep-water harbour located in the Gwadar district of Balochistan. It houses a fish harbour, a cargo jetty, and a Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) base.

Originally designed for fisheries and coastal trade, it has now gained attention as a potential mineral export terminal under Pakistan’s new proposal to the US.

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Location and Strategic Setting

  • Situated on the Arabian Sea, approximately 70 miles east of the China-operated Gwadar Port and 100 miles from the Iran-Pakistan border.
  • Roughly 300 km from India’s Chabahar Port in Iran, forming part of an emerging maritime triangle:
    • Chabahar (India–Iran)
    • Gwadar (China–Pakistan)
    • Pasni (US–Pakistan)

This triangle could redefine power dynamics in the North Arabian Sea, where regional and global interests intersect.

Aim of the Proposal

  • Reduce dependence on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by engaging US investment.
  • Promote commercial cooperation in the extraction and export of critical minerals like copper, antimony, and neodymium, which are essential for green technologies, electronics, and defence applications.
  • Position Pakistan as a critical-mineral transit hub, diversifying its economic partnerships beyond China and Gulf economies.

Key Features

  • Estimated investment: $1.2 billion through joint funding by the Pakistani government and US private investors.
  • Infrastructure plans: Rail and road connectivity to the Reko Diq mineral belt, along with modern cargo-handling terminals and logistics facilities.
  • Official stance: The project is described as purely commercial and non-military, intended to promote economic growth and regional trade.

Strategic and Economic Implications

  • For Pakistan: Offers a potential economic boost and strategic balance vis-à-vis China by attracting Western investment.
  • For the United States: Provides a foothold near China’s Gwadar and Iran’s Chabahar, enhancing its presence in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
  • For India: Raises strategic and maritime concerns, as Pasni’s proximity to Chabahar could influence surveillance, logistics, and regional trade routes.
  • For the Region: Adds a new dimension to the Indo-Pacific strategic framework, where economic and security interests overlap.

Significance

If operationalised, the Port of Pasni could transform into a key node in global critical mineral supply chains, while also intensifying great-power competition in South Asia’s maritime sphere.

UAE Introduces Sugar Tax to Promote Public Health

Context: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced that it will implement a sugar tax on sweetened beverages starting January 1, 2026. The move aims to reduce high sugar consumption and associated health risks such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. This initiative aligns with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)’s regional framework for a tiered excise on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs).

About the Sugar Tax

A sugar tax is a fiscal measure that increases the retail price of sugary drinks through taxation to discourage excessive sugar intake and encourage healthier choices among consumers.
Globally, countries like the UK, Mexico, and South Africa have introduced similar taxes with measurable declines in sugary drink consumption.

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Objectives:

  • Reduce sugar-related health issues.
  • Encourage product reformulation by beverage companies.
  • Generate revenue for public health and awareness programs.

In the UAE, this step forms part of a broader “Healthier UAE Vision”, which also targets smoking and trans-fat consumption.

India’s Approach

India already imposes one of the world’s highest tax burdens on sugary drinks, including:

  • 28% GST,
  • 40% Sin Tax, and
  • 12% Compensation Cess.

Together, these aim to discourage consumption and offset healthcare costs linked to lifestyle diseases. India’s measures align with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation to use fiscal tools for improving public health outcomes.

About the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

The GCC is a regional political and economic alliance formed in 1981 to strengthen political, financial, and security cooperation among its six members — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

  • Security Arm: Peninsula Shield Force (established 1984).
  • Regional Policy: Increasingly focused on economic diversification, health, and sustainability.

India–GCC Relations

  • Trade: Reached $178.56 billion in FY2025, forming 15.4% of India’s global trade.
  • Energy Security: GCC supplies ~35% of India’s crude oil and ~70% of its imported natural gas.
  • Diaspora: Over 8.9 million Indians live in GCC nations, contributing 38% of India’s total remittances (FY2024).

Thus, UAE’s fiscal and health policies have indirect implications for India’s trade, employment, and economic engagement in the Gulf.

Significance

The UAE’s sugar tax reflects a growing global shift towards preventive healthcare through economic policy. For India and other developing nations, it underscores the importance of integrating fiscal instruments with public health strategies to curb non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and reduce healthcare costs.

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