Doctors highlight health risks of vaping, urge govt to take quick action
New Delhi(PTI): Lungs of teenagers need protection, not pollution from vapes, medical experts have stressed while highlighting the dangers of vaping and the emergence of new-age gateway devices.
A group of doctors supporting the movement of Mothers Against Vaping, a collective dedicated to raising awareness about the ill effects of vaping and working to eradicate it, said vaping has health implications, including issues like coughing, dry throat, shortness of breath, or headaches.
More alarmingly, it can affect the heart, raising blood pressure, increasing heart rate, and even leading to a heart attack, they said.
Dr K K Handa, chairman, ENT, head and neck surgery, Medanta Hospital, said the common myth that vaping is safer than smoking is totally incorrect.
"Vaping can damage lungs after prolonged use since vapes contain nicotine, which has a serious addictive potential. Over time vape addiction can cause severe and serious mental issues like depression and anxiety. There is also a physical safety concern, as the devices used for vaping can sometimes catch fire. So, vaping is not safe at all," Dr Handa said.
According to Mothers Against Vaping, multiple reputed studies have clearly indicated the health risks of vaping and e-cigarettes.
A recent study in April 2025 by Johns Hopkins Medicine analysed medical data gathered from almost 250,000 people over a four-year period. The findings significantly linked the exclusive use of e-cigarettes to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and high blood pressure.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for urgent action to protect children and prevent the uptake of e-cigarettes.
These products are openly available and are aggressively marketed to young people. Children are being targeted and trapped into early nicotine addiction through the use of e-cigarettes.
Dr Harish Bhatia, Director and Head of Respiratory Medicine, MGS Super Speciality Hospital, Punjabi Bagh, said vapes, e-cigarettes, Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems(ENDS), Heat-Not-Burn (HNB) devices and other Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs) directly damage the lungs.
Lungs of teens need protection, not pollution from vapes. And any teen that is vaping needs immediate course correction. Only with good lungs will there be the beginning of Viksit Bharat, Dr Bhatia said.
Mothers Against Vaping has been consistently highlighting how teenagers and even children are falling prey to vapes, posing a real danger of losing the next generation to these new-age gateway devices.
Dr Rajesh Gupta, Director of Pulmonology at Fortis Hospital, said adolescents often start vaping socially at parties or under peer pressure, believing it is harmless or even better than smoking.
But this is a myth, and even occasional vaping exposes the lungs to harmful chemicals, which irritate and inflame their delicate tissues, often leading to serious problems.
In children whose lungs are still developing, this damage can be very long-lasting. And this damage does not stop at the lungs. Nicotine in the e-cigarettes is highly addictive and affects the brain, altering attention, memory, learning, and emotional regulation, Dr Gupta said.
"Social vaping can quickly spiral into regular addictive use, resulting in lifelong health consequences. As adults, parents, and educators, we must speak openly with children about the risks and act early. We should not assume that it's just a phase because every casual use is a potential gateway to long-term harm," Dr Rajesh added.
On the various ways and means of tackling vaping, Dr Bhavna Barmi, clinical psychologist and founder, Happiness Studio, said, "First of all, it is very important to build emotional literacy because vaping is not just peer pressure; it's also an emotional escape.
"When we teach our kids to name their feelings through journaling, mood charts, and open reflections, they will not need to numb them. There is also a need for guidance and awareness among parents, as most of them miss warning signs or respond with shame. We should provide workshops and conversation guides that encourage calm, curious dialogue. Punishment shuts kids down; understanding opens them up," Dr Barmi stressed.
"We also need to unpack the role of social media. Vaping looks glamorous online, but we should teach who profits and what the hidden agenda is. Teaching media literacy helps kids build critical thinking -- their best defence. Replace, don't just remove, should be our key. Let's give our children healthy alternatives - connection, creativity, and a sense of identity beyond grades or popularity.
"When our children are going to feel valued, they will stop escaping. Also, addiction recovery is not about control; it is about care, building safe, slow, and non-judgmental therapy spaces," Dr Barmi added.
Mothers Against Vaping is a united front of concerned mothers combating the escalating vaping crisis among our youth. The group has also been urgently appealing to the government to take decisive action against the growing and unchecked digital promotion of vapes and e-cigarettes.
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Grok obscene AI content: X submits response, IT Ministry examining it, say sources
New Delhi (PTI): The IT Ministry is examining the response and submissions made by X following a government directive to crack down on misuse of artificial intelligence chatbot Grok by users for the creation of sexualised and obscene images of women and minors, sources said.
X had been given extended time until Wednesday, 5 PM to submit a detailed Action Taken Report to the ministry, after a stern warning was issued to the Elon Musk-led social media platform over indecent and sexually-explicit content being generated through misuse of AI-based services like 'Grok' and other tools.
Sources told PTI that X has submitted their response, and it is under examination.
The details of X's submission were, however, not immediately known.
On Sunday, X's 'Safety' handle said it takes action against illegal content on its platform, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.
"Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content," X had said, reiterating the stance taken by Musk on illegal content.
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On January 2, the IT Ministry pulled up X and directed it to immediately remove all vulgar, obscene and unlawful content, especially generated by Grok (X's built-in artificial intelligence interface) or face action under the law.
In the directive on Friday, the ministry asked the US-based social media firm to submit a detailed action taken report (ATR) within 72 hours, spelling out specific technical and organisational measures adopted or proposed in relation to the Grok application; the role and oversight exercised by the Chief Compliance Officer; actions taken against offending content, users and accounts; as well as mechanisms to ensure compliance with the mandatory reporting requirement under Indian laws.
The IT Ministry, in the ultimatum issued, noted that Grok AI, developed by X and integrated on the platform, is being misused by users to create fake accounts to host, generate, publish or share obscene images or videos of women in a derogatory or vulgar manner.
"Importantly, this is not limited to creation of fake accounts but also targets women who host or publish their images or videos, through prompts, image manipulation and synthetic outputs," the ministry said, asserting that such conduct reflects a serious failure of platform-level safeguards and enforcement mechanisms, and amounts to gross misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in violation of stipulated laws.
The government made it clear to X that compliance with the IT Act and rules is not optional, and that the statutory exemptions under section 79 of the IT Act (which deals with safe harbour and immunity from liability for online intermediaries) are conditional upon strict observance of due diligence obligations.
"Accordingly, you are advised to strictly desist from the hosting, displaying, uploading, publication, transmission, storage, sharing of any content on your platform that is obscene, pornographic, vulgar, indecent, sexually explicit, paedophilic, or otherwise prohibited under any law...," the ministry said.
The government warned X in clear terms that any failure to observe due diligence obligations shall result in the loss of the exemption from liability under section 79 of the IT Act, and that the platform will also be liable for consequential action under other laws, including the IT Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It asked X to enforce user terms of service and AI usage restrictions, including ensuring strong deterrent measures such as suspension, termination and other enforcement actions against violating users and accounts.
X has also been asked to remove or disable access "without delay" to all content already generated or disseminated in violation of applicable laws, in strict compliance with the timelines prescribed under the IT Rules, 2021, without, as such, vitiating the evidence.
Besides India, the platform has drawn flak in the UK and Malaysia too. Ofcom, the UK's independent communications regulator, in a recent social media post, said: "We are aware of serious concerns raised about a feature on Grok on X that produces undressed images of people and sexualised images of children".
"We have made urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK. Based on their response, we will undertake a swift assessment to determine whether there are potential compliance issues that warrant investigation," Ofcom said.
