Now, vaping addicts to face music amid cop crackdown

Hyderabad: With the vaping crisis spinning out of control and school kids increasingly falling prey to nicotine addiction, police have declared a blanket ban on manufacture, sale, and use of e-cigarettes under Prohibition of Electronic Cigarette Act, 2019. Law enforcers on Tuesday warned of stringent action against those using e-cigarettes and warned parents of teen addicts that they too will be held accountable and can even be booked.Talking to reporters, Madhapur deputy commissioner of police G Sandeep, said, the crackdown on vaping won’t exclude addicts, including school kids and urged family members to proactively stop their wards from the habit. The word of caution comes close on heels of the arrest of six persons who had been selling e-cigarettes to students in Gachibowli police limits on Tuesday. The accused — K Jagadish Reddy, 65, Mohammed Jibraan, 27, Mohammed Sameer, 19, Mohammed Fardeen Khan, 19, Mukram, 32, and K Nathuram, 30, — were peddling the banned product on a referral basis at an inflated price. At least 99 e-cigarettes were seized during the police drive from a ‘paan’ shop at Sriram Nagar in Hafeezpet, Miyapur, and a hookah outlet in Kondapur.“It’s a misconception that e-cigarettes are a safer alternative. Vaping has serious health effects, including cardiovascular disease, lung damage, seizures and nicotine poisoning,” said Sandeep. The devices are available at ‘paan’ shops, say police sources. “We are working on leads and will crack down on vendors and consumers,” the police officer said. Four days ago, Madhapur Special Operations Team zeroed in on a few international schools, where kids were found smoking e-cigarettes nearby. When cops approached the students, most fled the scene but those who were caught confessed to buying e-cigarettes from various locations. Notices were issued to a few educational institutions, where minors were found vaping. The DCP also held out a warning to parents that they too would face action if they knowingly ignored their children’s addiction, underscoring how the vaping industry was dodging regulators’ efforts to spare a generation from getting hooked to nicotine. Information on violations can be brought to the notice of Cyberabad police on their WhatsApp number — 9490617444.
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