A 55-year-old man was arrested from Crawford market on Wednesday for allegedly selling e-cigarettes that have been banned in India since 2019. The police raided his store and seized various vaping materials and flavoured nicotine products worth more than Rs 2.5 lakhs.
๐-๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐ช
The ban on vaping came into force three years ago following the directives issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. According to the government, the ban on vaping would help in ''protecting the populationโ, especially the youth from the risk of addiction to nicotine through e-cigarettes. Vaping mainly involves using a device that evaporates a nicotine-containing liquid which the user inhales while using it. However, although vaping is formally banned in India, they are available at cigarette shops and various online marketplaces and mostly cost anywhere between Rs 500 to Rs 3,500.
๐ ๐๐บ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ถ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฒ-๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐
Following the instructions of the ban, the Mumbai police has been conducting various raids throughout the city, one of which was carried out on Wednesday. The police received a tip-off regarding the illegal sale and storage of electronic cigarettes at a shop in the famous Crawford market in South Mumbai.
The police raided the shop and arrested a 55-year-old man identified as Ashok Katara, residing at Andheri. They seized e-cigarettes from various international companies and also seized different types of flavoured nicotine products which are used in the e-cigarettes.
๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒ
A case has been registered against the accused and the investigation of the source of the products is underway. The punishment for using an e-cigarette ranges from a fine of one to five lakh rupees, as well as imprisonment for 1 to 3 years, while those found storing the devices may face imprisonment of up to 6 months and/or a fine up to Rs 50,000.
