Punjab cracks down on e-cig sites

The police department of the state of Punjab, India, has issued notices to a number of Internet sites for violating the Drugs and Cosmetics Act by selling electronic cigarettes, according to a Press Trust of India story relayed by the Business Standard.

The notices, which presumably required the sites to stop selling these devices to people living in the Punjab, were said to have been issued by the police’s cyber-crime wing “It becomes significant to prohibit these Internet sites from selling e-cigarettes,” a spokesperson from the cyber-crime wing was quoted as saying.

“E-cigarettes are electronic nicotine delivery system … devices containing nicotine in chemical form which is addictive and lethal.”

Earlier, the State Tobacco Control Cell also had issued awareness notices to e-commerce sites that were violating the Drugs and Cosmetics Act by selling unapproved drugs such as e-cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes have been declared an ‘unapproved drug’ by state drug controller since 2013. “Court cases have been initiated in Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur and Mohali district against vendors selling e-cigarettes,” the spokesperson said.