The Ministry of Interior reported that the Criminal Security Sector’s General Department of Criminal Investigation carried out the arrests after receiving information about the spread of e-cigarettes among male and female high school students. Detectives from the Capital Governorate’s criminal investigation department identified a grocery store that received orders and packaged them in ways intended to conceal the devices from parents. Officers obtained a legal warrant before detaining one suspect in the act of making a delivery and then raiding the preparation site to apprehend the other two accomplices.
Personnel from the Kuwait Municipality, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition participated in the operation alongside police, according to the ministry. The three suspects confessed during questioning, with two admitting they managed the grocery store, prepared the disguised orders and hid the e-cigarettes inside food items to generate profits while the third acknowledged delivering the packages despite full knowledge of their contents. Authorities issued violation notices, seized the concealed items and referred the men to prosecutors for further legal action.
The Ministry of Interior described the case as an example of deceptive tactics used to target minors by taking advantage of convenient delivery services that parents might not scrutinize closely. In its announcement the ministry stressed the need for greater vigilance against such methods that exploit online ordering platforms to reach school students. Officials noted that the arrests formed part of ongoing efforts to disrupt illicit nicotine distribution networks operating in residential areas near educational facilities.
The ministry urged parents to pay close attention to the types of products their children request through delivery applications or purchase from local shops. It recommended maintaining open dialogue with adolescents to foster trust and shield them from attempts at exploitation or manipulation. The statement also called for educating young people about the health hazards of smoking and the marketing strategies that specifically aim to attract students and minors.
A study published in the Journal of Tobacco Induced Diseases placed the prevalence of current e-cigarette use among Kuwaiti high school students at 26.4 percent, illustrating the challenges authorities face in protecting youth from nicotine products. The Ministry of Health issued regulations in August 2026 that will prohibit sales of all tobacco, nicotine items and e-cigarettes to anyone under 21 beginning in January 2027 while also banning their display near schools and youth centers. These measures treat electronic cigarettes the same as traditional smoking in all public places where tobacco use is already forbidden.
The Gulf Health Council warned in a recent campaign that adolescents who try e-cigarettes face nearly three times the risk of progressing to conventional cigarettes compared with non-users, according to World Health Organization estimates. The council highlighted nicotine’s adverse effects on brain development, attention span, learning ability and impulse control in individuals younger than 25. Regional data from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey across several Arab countries indicated a pooled prevalence of electronic nicotine delivery system use at 9.5 percent among youth aged 12 to 16.
