10:39, 4 October 2019

Chechen law enforcers launch war on vapes

Ramzan Kadyrov; an electronic cigarette. Photo REUTERS/Said Tsarnayev; Nina Tumanova. Collage by the "Caucasian Knot"

Ramzan Kadyrov has demanded to ban the circulation of electronic cigarettes (vapes). Law enforcers have already launched raids against vape smokers.

"Other states, starting from Latin America, have banned them everywhere, and we have vape non-stop smoking," Kadyrov has stated, as quoted by the "Grozny" TV Channel.

After this statement, law enforcers have rushed to check shops and outlets that sell electronic cigarettes and smoking mixes. Entrepreneurs in Grozny said that in the course of the raids vapes were seized from sale.

In their turn, locals believe that brutal force in solving such problems will hardly lead to solving them.

"It seems to me that the accent should be on prophylactics and explanatory work with the population, and not on brutal force," said Lukman, a resident of Chechnya.

"I'm afraid all this will result in another ostentatious campaign, like the fight on alcohol, when people are caught at liquor stores, taken to the police, fined and shown on TV. Such methods are unacceptable," said Rosa, a local resident.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 4, 2019 at 06:47 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: CK correspondents