Vapes, e-cigarettes, other artificial nicotine products to be banned soon

In order to crack down on the artificial nicotine products, the government on Tuesday issued an advisory against the sale of vapes, e-cigarettes, e-nicotine flavoured hookah, heat-not-burn devices, e-sheesha and other similar devices in the country.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare advisory issued to all the states and Union Territories, manufacturing, distributing, trading, importing and advertising of any artificially produced nicotine products -- Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) -- will be brought to an end soon.

The step comes after the Delhi High Court slammed the Health Ministry for not taking regulatory measures on the manufacture, import, sale and trading of e-cigarettes in the country.

The Ministry stated that in 2014, a roundtable discussion on ENDS was held where health experts and officers of the health and drug departments concluded that such devices are hazardous.

Indian techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla's killer pleads guilty to hate crimes

A US Navy veteran who yelled "Get out of my country!" before killing Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla and injuring two others at a bar in Kansas City last year, has pleaded guilty to three federal hate-crime charges.

Adam Purinton, 53, who is already serving life in prison on a state murder charge, pleaded guilty in US District Court in Kansas City on Monday to three federal hate-crime charges alleging that he targeted the men because of their actual and perceived race, colour, religion and national origin.

He had earlier in March pleaded guilty to first-degree murder of 32-year-old Kuchibhotla and two counts of attempted first-degree murder in state court in the shootings of the Indian tech worker's friend Madasani and a bystander.

The US Attorney's Office in Kansas had filed hate crime charges against Purinton last June.