According to the head of customs department (DRC), Wangchuk Thayey, on the evening of June 13 mobile inspectors while inspecting an Indian vehicle near Karbytar found 800 Wills packets and two sacks of Baba chewing tobacco.

The illegal items were seized and the driver was warned but was once again caught by custom officials at the truck parking in Phuentsholing on June 15.

“Around 98 Wills packets were seized at that time and we impounded the vehicle as well,” Wangchuk Thayey told Kuensel. The driver, on questioning, revealed that the tobacco items bought from Jaigoan were being smuggled by a vegetable vendor in Thimphu.

According to the customs rules and regulations, a person is allowed to import a maximum of 200 sticks of cigarettes and 50 grams of chewing tobacco for personal consumption, subject to a 100 percent tax on the invoiced value (value declared by buyer).

Third country tobacco products are liable to 200 percent import duty and any quantity beyond that is subject to confiscation, according to Wangchuk Thayey.

Although Bhutan banned the sale of tobacco products on December 17, 2004, it is still easily available in major urban centres.

Smokers in Phuentsholing walk across the border to Jaigaon to buy cigarettes. A packet of Wills cigarettes costs only Nu 35 in Jaigoan. “In Thimphu, I pay Nu 50 for a pack but, in the eastern region, prices range Nu 100-300 a pack,” said a regular smoker.

One of the rising problems created by smokers include litter. Butts, which comprises about 30% of the cigarette’s original length, are a common sight since it is biodegradable. The filters made of cellulose acetate take many years to decompose.

As per records with the trade department since 2004, 24 business licenses have been cancelled for selling tobacco products and a fine of Nu 10,000 have been levied on each infraction. This year alone, tobacco products worth Nu 125,000 have been seized and destroyed.