In the Media
Press, interviews & op-eds
HRPR is a young organisation, but its founder Samrat Chowdhery has spent over a decade in the tobacco harm reduction debate. This page collects that coverage: press mentions and interviews where he's spoken on harm reduction policy, and op-eds he's written for outlets in India and abroad.
Press & media mentions
Outlook India: Which Ban Has Worked In India?
Samrat spoke to Outlook on India's e-cigarette ban, arguing that prohibition pushes users toward unregulated products rather than reducing harm.
Read the article →World Vapers' Alliance: How Far Can India's Vape Ban Go?
Comment from Samrat on a stricter reinterpretation of India's vape ban and the possibility of a legal challenge.
Read the article →GFN·TV: Does India Have a Vape Misinformation Problem?
A video interview discussing the origins of India's vape ban, WHO influence on Indian health policy, and low nicotine literacy among doctors.
Watch the interview →APN News: Samrat Chowdhery appointed as INNCO President
Coverage of the INNCO appointment, describing Samrat's advocacy on consumer representation in global tobacco policy discussions.
Read the article →Uniquely Deadly
A feature on smokeless tobacco in India, drawing on Samrat's estimates of SLT-linked mortality and the conditions behind India's illicit and informal tobacco trade.
Read the article →India says e-cigarette ban implies use of devices also prohibited
Reuters coverage of a government court filing suggesting personal use of e-cigarettes was also barred; Samrat argued this contradicted the Health Ministry's earlier public assurances.
Read the article →The New York Times: coverage of India's e-cigarette ban
International coverage of India's 2019 ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, and the response from consumer advocates.
Read the article →India's Vape Crusaders
A Livemint profile on the early consumer movement pushing back against state-level vaping bans in India, and the case for harm reduction over prohibition.
Read the article →Op-eds & bylines
India's Vape Ban: A Case Study in Unintended Consequences
Five years on from India's vape ban, Samrat examines the growth of the illicit market and lost tax revenue, and calls for regulation over prohibition.
Read the op-ed →Tobacco Price Elasticity: A Convenient Myth?
An argument that steep tobacco tax hikes often fuel black markets and illicit trade rather than reducing consumption as intended.
Read the op-ed →India Doubles Down on Vape Ban With Research and Media Censorship
A look at how India has restricted research and media discussion of tobacco harm reduction in the years since its 2019 vape ban.
Read the op-ed →India Scored A Self-Goal With Its E-Cigarette Ban
An early assessment of the vape ban's effects, questioning the evidence base the government cited in enacting it.
Read the op-ed →A Perfect Storm
An account of how India arrived at its current ban on safer nicotine alternatives, and the case for reversing course. Also discussed on the GFN News podcast.
Read the op-ed →Tobacco Farming in the New Nicotine Era: Why Indian Farmers Struggle to Transition
A proposal for helping Indian tobacco farmers extract pharmaceutical-grade nicotine from crop waste, integrating them into the modern nicotine supply chain rather than pursuing unfeasible crop substitution.
Read the op-ed →Research & policy publications
Finding common ground on shifting sands
A published response in BMJ's Tobacco Control journal, arguing that framing the global tobacco epidemic as purely industry-made overlooks the dominant role of non-industrial products like bidis and smokeless tobacco in countries such as India.
Read the response →