The Indian government's ban on the import, sale, production and distribution of e-cigarettes, or vaping devices, came as a surprise for many users.

The ban will be imposed through an executive order and will include jail terms of up to three years or fines up to 7,020 U.S. dollars or both for offenders. India's health ministry proposed the ban saying it was needed to ensure e-cigarettes don't become an "epidemic" among children and young adults.

"In India, people don't mind trying it as a style statement. The decision was taken in light of the impact e-cigarettes are having on youth," said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Hours after the ban, vaping shops in India started winding up their stuff. Customers started pouring into their regular shops to stock up for some months.

Savita Pant, a mother of two, bought products worth 450 U.S. dollars.

"My daughter has been crying since she heard the news and so I volunteered to come and pick up stuff for her and my son. I have seen a huge change in them in the last four years since they started using e-cigarettes. Over the years they have reduced the quantity of nicotine intake. I hope this decision is reversed," she poured out.

The next day a trip to these shops was futile as none of them were open. One last store in the posh South Delhi was packing up when we reached it.

Jenita Shrestha, the manager of the shop was directing her staff to put products in cartons to be carried away. "It's very sad as it is taking away the rights of the smokers. It's a huge loss for us as we have invested in all kinds of products. All these products are imported as they are not manufactured in India and now we cannot even return them or sell them. We have devices for heavy smokers and pot systems with nicotine and without nicotine, all these are redundant now," said Shrestha.

E-cigarettes are battery-operated device which heat a nicotine-infused liquid into an inhalable vapor. India saw a growth in the number of users in the last three years.

Between 2016 and 2019, vaping devices worth 191,780 U.S. dollars were imported to India. The fresh ban has dashed the expansion plans of e-cigarette companies. The traders association is exploring the option of fighting this battle legally, saying they's suspicious of the decision.

Praveen Rikhy from the Trade Representatives of ENDS (Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems) in India asked, "According to estimates, the nicotine market is a 150-billion-U.S.-dollar opportunity. Why are we denying our farmers that? Why are we denying our citizens the right to a less harmful product? These are questions that I would really like to ask the government."

The announcement was ambiguous about using the devices, but vapers will not be able to legally buy them anymore. 

Kannav Kumar, an engineer, used to smoke two packs a day and calls himself a chain smoker. This habit affected his social life, as he avoided people for the fear of being mocked since he would smell of tobacco the whole day. He switched to vaping in 2014 and was very happy about kicking out the bad habit of smoking.

But this announcement has come as a shock to him.

"I am a law abiding citizen and will have to follow what the government says. I am not going to rely on illegal sellers to source my stuff. Now vapers like me are stuck as we cannot buy what we need legally and those who do go the illegal way might end up with adulterated products. It's a big risk," Kumar said.

Minister Sitharaman said the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Ordinance could be passed into law in the upcoming winter session of Parliament, which will give legal power to the agencies to punish the offenders.