Photo for representation only. (picture by Sarah Johnson)
Criminal Court Department of the Court of First Instance has issued a number of rulings against suppliers and smokers of electronic cigarettes, which was bought illegally into the country.
Some violators were sentenced to prison and many fined. Shipments seized from suppliers were confiscated by authorities, Arabic daily Al Sharq said in a report.
The court is putting pressure on electronic cigarette dealers and smokers as it is a health hazard and not legal to use in Qatar. These products could destroy brain and lung cells and lead to heart attack and chest infections. Stud-ies have proved electronic cigarettes are no less toxic than conventional cigarettes.
The courts have also tightened penalties for other types of tobacco like ‘tumbaku’ (chewing tobacco) and ‘swaika’.
According to the law promoters and suppliers of electronic cigarette are also penalised. The report quoted lawyer Manaa Nasser Saleh as saying that electronic shisha and cigarettes contain toxic substances that could cause se-vere danger to human body, especially to the respiratory system.
He pointed out that the country has taken various initiatives including 100% increase in tax on tobacco products, which has reduced cigarette consumption. Millions of riyals are spent on health and therapeutic sector to combat diseases that result from the harmful effects of smoking.
Another lawyer, Hind Al-Saffar, was quoted as saying that the Penal Code criminalises electronic cigarettes be-cause they are very harmful to body and mind, disrupting daily lives and negatively impacting behaviors as they contain large amounts of tobacco and toxic substances.
Article 44 of the Anti-Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law allows confiscation of dangerous narcotic substances, psychotropic substances or plants.
It also allows confiscation of tools, machinery, vessels and means of transport that have been used in the commis-sion of the crime.
Article 46 of the Penal Code provides that a fine of not more than 20,000 riyals and not less than 10,000 riyals shall be imposed on anyone who has been trading or possess dangerous narcotic substances or psychotropic substanc-es.
Article 47 stipulates that any person who commits any other violation of the provisions of this law or the decisions shall be liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months and not less than one month and a fine not exceeding ten thousand riyals and not less than five thousand riyals.
