OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police have referred a 21-year-old university student to prosecutors over the illegal sale of nicotine-laced e-cigarette devices — popularly known on the streets by the name “nicopuff” — to a minor.
The bust is the first crackdown of its kind in Japan, reports Kansai TV (Mar. 11).
The male university student is accused of violating the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act. Police allege that last November he sold 10 nicopuff devices for 40,000 yen to a 17-year-old high school boy in Kyoto Prefecture.
During questioning, the suspect readily admitted to the allegations. “I bought them on overseas websites and started selling them to make some pocket money,” he told investigators. Authorities report that he had raked in over 280,000 yen in illicit sales.
The teenage buyer was also referred to prosecutors for allegedly reselling the devices to his own acquaintances.
Kyoto uni student faces charges in nationwide first crackdown on illegal ‘nicopuff’ salesStrictly illegal in Japan
Nicopuff devices contain nicotine but have not been approved by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, making their sale or transfer strictly illegal in Japan. However, because personal use currently remains outside legal restrictions, the devices are spreading like wildfire among young people.
Many youths are drawn to the vapes, describing them as “cute” and “delicious,” while obtaining them effortlessly from touts in nightlife areas like Osaka City’s Minami district or through peer networks. Sellers often disguise the illegal products by falsely claiming they are nicotine-free.
Experts are now sounding the alarm, warning that the trendy vapes are serving as a gateway to harder substances.
“While regular cigarettes and heated tobacco products are strictly regulated under laws prohibiting underage smoking, e-cigarettes fall into a legal gray area,” says Yuki Kuwabara, an assistant professor at Tottori University’s Faculty of Medicine. “There is a severe risk that this will lead young people to experiment with highly dangerous illegal drugs like marijuana or ‘zombie vapes’ [etomidate].”
Indeed, a former user in their 20s confessed to reporters that acquaintances who started with “nicopuffs” have since escalated to purchasing illicit drugs smuggled from China and other overseas sources.
With the law struggling to keep pace with new products, legal experts are calling for urgent legislative action.
Lawyer Kyosuke Nishiwaki emphasized the need for comprehensive legal reform, pointing to countries like Singapore where e-cigarettes are banned outright. Nishiwaki urged the government to act before “nicopuffs” pave the way to widespread narcotic abuse among minors.
AloJapan.com