Russian Customs Seizes Smuggled E-Cigarettes Worth RUB 6.5 Million

According to the press office of Russia’s Kemerovo Customs, customs officers, together with the Federal Security Service and transport police, seized more than 7,000 smuggled e-cigarettes in the Tomsk region, with a total value exceeding RUB 6.5 million.

Preliminary information indicates that an international supply channel bringing large quantities of unmarked e-cigarettes from China into Tomsk has been cut off. These products were illegally exported from China and transported to stores in Tomsk.

These smuggled e-cigarette products were sent for expert testing, and the results showed excessive nicotine content, posing a danger to consumers’ life and health.

According to reports, staff from the Tomsk division of Kemerovo Customs, the Tomsk transport police, and the Tomsk financial stability bureau seized the batch of unlabeled e-cigarettes in the office of a commercial company in Tomsk, with a total value of more than RUB 6.5 million.

Under the Russian Federation Criminal Code provision on “smuggling alcoholic products and/or tobacco products,” which carries a maximum sentence of up to 12 years in prison, a criminal case has now been opened against those involved in the smuggling, and further investigation is underway.

Earlier reports noted that smoking rates around the world have been declining year by year. One of the main reasons is the spread of new nicotine-containing or nicotine-substitute products, including e-cigarettes, hookahs, vaping devices, and heated tobacco systems. The Tomsk region is currently discussing stricter laws on e-cigarette sales, including increasing the minimum distance between retail outlets and schools.