Six shops raided in Chandigarh, illegal cigarettes seized

Chandigarh, June 21

A joint team, led by officers of the Department of Health, conducted raids at six shops across the city and seized illegal cigarettes.

The team comprising officials of the Police Department, Excise & Taxation Department and Department of Legal Metrology, Food Safety & Drug Control wing conducted raids at shops selling loose cigarettes without having any purchase record under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution Act, 2003.

The departments imposed fine on the shopkeepers. Loose cigarettes worth Rs 23,000 were self destroyed by shopkeepers.

Food safety officials also collected 2 samples of pan masala from a shop in Sector 22-B to submit it to National Tobacco Testing Laboratory (NTTL) under the provisions of the Food Standards & Safety Act (FSSA), 2010.

Dr Suman Singh, Director Health, UT, said such raids would be continued in future by the Permanent Task Force constituted by the UT Administration to make the

public aware of the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), COTPA Act, 2023, harmful effects of tobacco consumption and prevent the sale of illegal imported cigarettes.