New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS): Coming down heavily on the Central government for its failure to frame any policy on e-cigarette, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought an affidavit indicating a time frame for putting in place a mechanism to regulate the manufacture, import and sale of e-cigarettes.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V. Kameswar Rao pulled up the Central government for its failure to take any decision on regulatory measures for e-cigarettes till date. It noted that some states have already taken steps to prohibit it.

The bench said that this is an important issue particularly for educational institutions.

The court was hearing a plea seeking a ban on or regulation of the sale and use of e-cigarettes. It listed the matter for further hearing on September 7.

The public interest litigation petition filed by anti-tobacco activist Seema Sehgal, through advocate Bhuvanesh Sehgal, said that though there are no specific guidelines to deal with emerging threats such as e-cigarettes several state governments and Union Territories have taken steps to prohibit it.

Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh have declared e-cigarettes as an unapproved drug under the Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1954 and have begun prosecuting the vendors.