Source: Correio da Paraíba - PB - 25/09/2009

More than 10 cigarette bags of various foreign brands and without registration by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) were apprehended in the capital, on the morning of this Friday (25), during an operation carried out by the Public Prosecutor's Office for Consumer Protection , in partnership with the Civil Police, the State Procon and the Sanitary Surveillance of João Pessoa and Paraíba.

 
The team that makes up the Permanent Consumer Protection Forum inspected more than 50 points spread throughout the city (especially the Bus Terminal and the Central Market) that made the clandestine sale of cigarettes.

 
According to the Consumer Prosecutor, Francisco Glauberto Bezerra, the operation aims to combat the action of a gang that operates in the distribution of cigarettes, probably from Paraguay.

“We have received reports that there is a mafia in the distribution of these products, which even intimidates and threatens small traders to sell these cigarettes. All seized cigarettes do not have Anvisa registration. Our major concern is with the health of the consumer. We know that all cigarettes are bad for your health, but those cigarettes that are not under the control of any organ are even more harmful! ”, He argued.

 
The action carried out today was also educational in nature and for that reason, no one was arrested. The prosecutor said that the seized merchandise will be subjected to assessment to see if the cigarettes are counterfeit or not.

“We are also going to check if the product is the result of contraband, which will require action by the Federal Police. The fight against illegal cigarette sales will be a permanent task of the Consumer Protection Forum ”, he guaranteed.

 
The operation was triggered by the MP, after complaints made by the State Health Surveillance Agency (Agevisa / PB). The president of Agevisa, José Alves Cândido, also highlighted the risk that illegal cigarettes bring to the consumer's health.

“Nobody can be sure of the substances that make up that product and the quantity of each component used in its formulation. The product without sanitary control does not bring information about health risks on the packaging, which is a consumer right and a way to discourage its use ”, he explained.