The sale of three types of flavoured cigarettes distributed by Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) has been stopped in Sri Lanka with immediate effect, reports Daily Mirror.

Accordingly, the sale of Dunhill Switch, Dunhill Double Capsule and John Player Gold Pro Cool cigarettes has been discontinued from November 17.

A case was filed by the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) in Matara, Colombo and Anuradhapura on September 1, 2016 in terms of the Gazette notification of 1982 (33).

Under the NATA Act, the regulations were introduced by former Health Minister Rajitha Senarathne under Section 30 read with Section 33 of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act, No. 27 of 2006. According to the gazette, smokeless tobacco products or mixtures containing tobacco, flavoured, coloured or sweetened cigarettes containing tobacco and e-cigarettes containing tobacco are banned.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa stated in Parliament that the Court of Appeal had given its verdict on the petitions filed by NATA regarding the suspension of the sale and distribution of the said flavoured tobacco products. He claimed that the verdict was delivered orally and was not uploaded on the court’s website. He therefore called on the Minister of Justice to look into the matter. Premadasa said the CTC had also filed a suit against NATA at the Court of Appeal.