Court rules on illegal e-cigarette sales

Two men who sold electronic cigarettes without a permit were sentenced to up to seven months in jail with a reprieve, Chongming District People's Court said on Friday.

They were also fined 10,000 yuan (US$1,427) and 5,000 yuan respectively. The court said it was the first criminal case related to e-cigarettes it had handled.

The Jiang brothers began to sell e-cigarettes last year by mail order. On October 16 last year, police seized 374 e-cigarette cartridges of brands that included Marlboro, HEETS and Fiit from their car and residence. The cartridges were valued at nearly 65,000 yuan.

The brothers' unauthorized sales had violated State Tobacco Monopoly Administration regulations, the court found.