Tons of illegal tobacco, e-cigarette products seized in Jordan

The Director General of Jordan Customs, Customs Brigadier Engineer Jalal Al-Qudah, announced a sweeping inspection campaign targeting smuggling hotspots, illegal e-cigarette sales, and "juice" (e-liquid) distribution, in collaboration with the department's intelligence unit.

Customs officers have seized 10 tons of expired and non-compliant tobacco and Muʽassel (used in Shishas), along with 60,000 containers of vape liquid in various capacities and over 10,000 e-cigarettes.

“These items were found in primitive workshops that fail to meet basic public safety and health standards,” Al-Qudah said.

“The materials are harmful to health, do not meet food and drug specifications, and include smuggled quantities.”

The campaign, carried out in coordination with security agencies, remains ongoing. Intelligence teams are gathering data on the locations of production and sales of these illicit products, Al-Qudah noted.

He urged citizens to exercise caution when purchasing such items, warning against low-cost, poor-quality goods that pose serious health risks due to unsafe and unsanitary manufacturing conditions.

Al-Qudah also revealed that recent inspections have uncovered an alarming rise in the prevalence of these products in the market, prompting the intensified efforts to combat their sale and production to protect public health.

Reports indicate that some workshops have ramped up operations, producing harmful materials without adherence to health and environmental safety standards. Some of the seized items were deemed unfit for human use, he added.

The director emphasized that all legally imported products undergo strict regulation, monitoring, and compliance checks to ensure they meet food and drug safety standards – as reported by the Jordan News Agency (Petra).