India

Legal basis: FSS Regulations / Supreme Court order banning gutka and smokeless tobacco; state-level smokeless tobacco bans

Following a Supreme Court order, all states have banned the manufacture and sale of gutka and pan masala containing tobacco/nicotine under Food Safety and Standards Regulations, and at least 12 states/UTs also ban other smokeless tobacco (zarda, khaini). Snus, as a smokeless oral tobacco, falls under these prohibitions and is effectively banned for sale.

Legal basis: FSS Regulations (ban on food products containing tobacco/nicotine); state smokeless tobacco bans

Nicotine pouches are not named in PECA 2019 (which targets e-cigarettes), but oral nicotine products fall foul of FSS regulations banning food products containing nicotine/tobacco and state-level smokeless tobacco bans. Sale and online purchase are prohibited in practice; the grey area is narrow.

Legal basis: Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA) 2019

E-cigarettes and all vaping products are banned. PECA 2019 prohibits production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertising of e-cigarettes nationwide. Possession for sale is an offence; products remain available illicitly despite the ban.

Legal basis: Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA) 2019 (heat-not-burn devices included)

Heated tobacco / heat-not-burn devices are covered by PECA 2019's broad definition of electronic nicotine delivery and heat-not-burn devices and are effectively banned for import and sale. Not commercially available.