Chandigarh, Sept. 17 -- A joint enforcement team of the health, police, excise and taxation, legal metrology, and food safety departments conducted a raid in Chandigarh to check violations of tobacco-control laws.

At Sharma Confectionery and Juice Bar in Sector 16 D, officials found the outlet selling loose and imported cigarettes within 100 metres of an educational institution. The mandatory signage under Section 6(a) of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, was also missing. Fines were imposed by the health and excise departments, while imported cigarette packets were seized and loose cigarettes were destroyed.

A second confectionery in the same sector was also found selling cigarettes within the prohibited dist...