New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday saw some lighter moments after Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu asked Health Minister J.P. Nadda as to what an e-cigarette was. Naidu's query came during the Question Hour after a member asked the Health Minister about the health risks of e-cigarettes.

"The supplementaries are over. But I would like to ask the Minister for the sake of the members' and country's general knowledge, what is an e-cigarette?" Naidu asked curiously as MPs and mediapersons laughed. Nadda explained that an e-cigarette is a device that produces vapours of nicotine by heating a nicotine capsule inside it. The smoker puffs this vapour. "It does not contain tobacco but nicotine.

The smoker gets a high from these vapours that they get by smoking a cigarette," Nadda said. Earlier, replying to a question, Nadda said that although the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has not issued any advisory to state governments on the health risks of electronic smoking, it is working on the subject.

"We had formed three sub-groups to study various aspects of the matter. They have submitted their reports and the ministry is considering it. Several countries have banned e-cigarettes and we are studying the legal aspects of it," he said. (IANS)