Smoke mixtures: security forces took on tobacco dealers for hookahs
A series of large-scale inspections of wholesale and retail companies specializing in the sale of tobacco and nicotine-containing products for hookahs has begun in the capital. The events are held with the support of supervisory authorities and law enforcement agencies in order to identify and suppress violations related to illegal product trafficking. How the illegal hookah market is organized and how dangerous its consumption is — in the material of Izvestia.
Warehouse audits
According to a source in law enforcement agencies, in September, the metropolitan police conducted several inspections of wholesale nicotine-containing products. A total of 30 million rubles worth of goods were seized, including about 6 tons of tobacco for hookah. Representatives of the Federal Service for Alcohol and Tobacco Market Control are taking part in the events.
"Serious violations have already been identified at the early stages of inspections, including the absence of excise and digital markings, non—compliance with product storage conditions, as well as the absence of supporting documents documenting the legality of the origin of the goods," the source told Izvestia. — As a result, significant shipments of counterfeit nicotine-containing mixtures and hookah tobacco were seized.
According to him, we are talking, among other things, about the absence of an "Honest Mark" on the products, which gives the end user an idea of the origin of the goods.
According to a law enforcement source, similar audits will be conducted in other regions of Russia in the near future. Special attention will be paid to strict observance of labeling rules and confirmation of the legality of the origin of the products sold.
"Such measures are necessary to combat the illegal tobacco market, which damages the economy and poses a threat to consumers," he says.
Market opinion
Legal market players welcome the efforts of the police. According to Mark Dudko, Vice-president of the Union of Enterprises of the Nicotine-Containing Products Industry (SPINI), adviser to the President of Meridian-Trade JSC, the authorities are pursuing the right policy.
— The government is taking absolutely the right steps to regulate the industry: sales to minors are prohibited, an Honest Mark labeling system and licensing for manufacturers and importers have been introduced, and wholesale and retail licensing will be introduced next year.
However, he believes that a reasonable and balanced approach to market regulation is needed.
— According to market experts, the government, through a balanced approach to regulating the industry, could attract up to 226 billion rubles to the budget, which includes not only excise duties, but also VAT, corporate income taxes and social contributions, — says Dudko.
He estimates the number of underage consumers of nicotine-containing products at 5-10 million people. According to him, there are more than 100 thousand retail outlets selling tobacco products in Russia (including federal retail).
According to Dudko, the Honest Sign system will help bring the market out of the shadows and control product quality, but only if there is an adequate excise tax.
Worse than cigarettes
From the point of view of narcology, hookah is a full-fledged way of consuming nicotine and forms a persistent physical and psychological dependence, says Ruslan Isaev, a psychiatrist and president of the Independent Narcological Guild.
— Many underestimate the risk, considering the process of "vaping" hookah less harmful and dangerous than smoking cigarettes. This myth is supported by the fact that smoke is "filtered" through water (or other liquid) and enters the smoker in some "purified" form. Of course, this is not the case.
According to him, the water filter in a hookah is more of a design element for cooling smoke, rather than for cleaning it. This makes it less irritating to the respiratory tract and creates a deceptive feeling of "safety" and "softness", which contributes to more intense and prolonged smoking. The very process of smoking, no matter what the sellers of hookah mixtures say, is no less, but even more harmful and dangerous than cigarettes.
— Firstly, there is a high intake of carbon monoxide (CO), — Isaev lists the negative consequences of hookah consumption. — The products of coal combustion lead to a concentration of CO in the inhaled smoke, which is many times higher than that of cigarettes. This causes acute hypoxia (oxygen starvation) of tissues, stress on the cardiovascular and nervous systems, and can cause acute poisoning, dizziness, and nausea. Secondly, the intake of carcinogenic substances. Despite passing through water, the smoke contains significant amounts of solid particles, formaldehyde, benzene, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The duration of the session (60 minutes or more) and the large volume of smoke inhaled lead to the fact that the combined dose of these substances can be very high, which increases the long-term risks of developing cancer and respiratory diseases.
According to him, the composition of mixtures, as a rule, includes tobacco (a source of nicotine), molasses or glycerin (for humidification and steam generation), as well as artificial flavors.
— The key problem is the lack of strict regulation and openness of the composition for the end user. Therefore, it is difficult to reliably assess the full range of inhaled chemical compounds. Hookah, therefore, represents a complex health risk associated with nicotine addiction, acute carbon monoxide poisoning and long—term exposure to carcinogens," concluded psychiatrist-narcologist Isaev.
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