CHENNAI: Since the ban on e-cigarettes came into force in the state last year, the Directorate of Public Health has so far booked two cases on violation of the ban order. Now that the product has been banned across the country, it will be easy for effective enforcement, say officials.
While the Centre banned e-cigarettes on Wednesday, the State Health Department banned them in its Government Order, dated September 3, 2018, following an announcement of Health Minister C Vijayabaskar in the Assembly on June 14 last year.
Speaking to Express, Dr K Kolandaswamy, Director of Public Health, said, “It was difficult to enforce the ban earlier because it was banned only in Tamil Nadu and the product was available in other states. Also preventing online sales was a challenge. Now enforcement will be easy as it is banned across the country.”
He also said, “We have booked two cases. In one incident, following a complaint that e-cigarettes were being sold at a place in the city, we raided the place and seized the products. In another case, a person was found to have ordered e-cigars online. On our request, the cybercrime officers removed the website in question and prevented online sale. We also received a few other complaints.”
However, a source in the Health department said, “Enforcement of ban is, in fact, a problem as it is mostly sold online. In such cases, we depend on Cyber Crime officials. It is difficult to track who is ordering what, from the comfort of their home. We don’t have manpower also for the enforcement”.