Chandigarh: Admn crackdown on illegal cigarette sale

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 24

In a concerted effort to curb the sale of illegally imported cigarettes and ensure compliance with tobacco-control regulations, a joint team, comprising officials from various departments, conducted a raid today.

The violators were fined and 30,000 loose cigarettes destroyed.

The team, comprising the representatives from the departments of health, police, excise and taxation, legal metrology and the food safety & drug control wing, carried out the raid under the directives of the Chairman-Cum-Additional Secretary, Health.

Several shopkeepers were found selling imported cigarettes without maintaining proper purchase record or displaying the mandatory 85% pictorial warning about the health hazards associated with tobacco products, as required under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003.

Sham Lal Sharma, owner of Sharma Pan House located at Booth No. 2, Sector 19-D, was fined Rs 500 under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA). Loose cigarettes worth Rs 5,000 were destroyed by the shopkeeper.

Harish Bhatia of Booth No. 3, Sector 19-C, was fined Rs 1,000 under COTPA and Rs 10,000 under the Excise Act. Food safety officials seized 24 packets of the “Vimal” brand pan masala for analysis.

Ankush Chaurasia, owner of Chaurasia Pan located at Sector 27, was fined Rs 500 under COTPA. The Legal Metrology Department seized 11 packets of “Organic Smokes” from the shop.

Manoj Kumar, owner of Chaurasia Bros. located at Booth No. 1, Sector 22-C, Chandigarh, was fined Rs 1,000 under COTPA. The Excise Department seized imported cigarettes worth about Rs 35,000 from the shop.

During the raid, the police confiscated 301 vaping devices, 80 refills and 140 packets of tobacco molasses containing nicotine from the shop of Chaurasia Bros.

The authorities stressed the importance of adhering to the regulations laid down under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, which are aimed at protecting public health and raising awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco consumption.

Traders flout rules

Several shopkeepers were found selling imported cigarettes without maintaining proper purchase record or displaying the mandatory 85% pictorial warning about the health hazards associated with tobacco products