India, May 9 -- In the early 2010s, there was an explosion of seductive technologies that sustain the addiction of nicotine. Called variously such as e-cigarettes, vapes, heated tobacco products, and heat-not-burn devices, among several others. Promoted by both tobacco and non-tobacco companies, these attractive products aimed to expand and deepen nicotine addiction.

Last week, Britain reversed its position on vaping. Once the world's most vocal champion of vapes as a harm-reduction tool, the United Kingdom now bans the sale of tobacco products and vapes to anyone born after January 1, 2009. This generational prohibition marks a shift in global public health policy. It undermines the argument that vapes are safer than smoking. For India,...