An “electronic cigarette inspection team” is to target ports of entry, night markets and the Internet, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in response to police concerns and a media report of e-cigarettes laced with methamphetamine bought from a Chinese web site.
The Food and Drug Administration yesterday said that in Taiwan, e-cigarettes are pharmaceutical products that cannot be sold without registration of the product and are not permitted to be sold online in accordance with the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (藥事法).
According to the Chinese-language United Daily News, police tested an e-cigarette being smoked in Taipei after being alerted to its smell and found that it contained methamphetamine, a Category 2 narcotic specified by the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例).
The man, surnamed Wen (溫), denied that he was knowingly using the drug and was quoted in the report as telling the police that he purchased the “green-apple-flavored” e-cigarettes on a Chinese shopping Web site earlier this month, because he wanted to kick his smoking habit.
He found his urge for cigarettes decreased, along with acquiring an increased alertness, after using the device for a week.
Wen said he was shocked by the test result and joked that he expected to quit smoking by using electronic cigarettes, not by using narcotics. He was nevertheless placed under investigation as a drug suspect.
Police were quoted in the news report as raising concerns about similar online purchases leading to addiction and drug abuse.
The FDA said that nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes are regulated as pharmaceutical products in accordance with the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and are required to be registered and approved before being put on the market, or else be banned as counterfeit or prohibited drugs.
Making claims about the product’s effectiveness in quitting smoking, or even lessening people’s urge to smoke, is equally outlawed by the act, the administration added.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
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