The Brazilian Federal Highway Police says that even if vapes are banned, smuggling will not decrease, but rather increase, and therefore recommends that the ban remain in place.
The Brazilian Federal Highway Police (PRF) believes that even if the ban on vapes is lifted in Brazil, smuggling will not decrease, Uol reported on September 17th.
Robinson Barreirinhas, director of Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service (PRF), expressed anxiety about the vaping ban at a September meeting of Antonio Barra Torres, director of Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), and argued that the fight against smuggling amounted to “doing nothing”.
Then-Acting Director of Operations Jefferson Almeida Moraes made the PRF’s recommendation (Jefferson Almeida Moraes) Anvisa Director Antonio Barra Torres signed off on the opinion in April of this year (Antonio Barra Torres) Meiruze Sousa Freitas Freitas) citing the vote to uphold the ban on vape sales.
The document details the PRF’s actions in the fight against vape smuggling and insider sales and emphasizes the importance of the department’s ongoing belief that the vape ban should be maintained.
In the article, Barrellinhas wrote:
- “We also insist that maintaining the ban is the best option for our country in Brazil in forums that involve border security and the fight against cross-border crime.”
- “There is no reason to believe that smuggling will decrease once the product is controlled in Brazil. On the contrary, as with other banned products, if we choose to regulate vapes, we can predict a dramatic increase in smuggling.”
