Kiosk owners called on to withdraw ‘legal highs’

THE PRESIDENT of the Association of Shopkeepers, Andreas Theodoulou, yesterday called on kiosk owners to withdraw of their own accord any stocks of so-called legal highs, which were banned by an executive order of the cabinet on Thursday.

“I believe that of our own accord we should withdraw these items.  Of course, they were not being sold at all kiosks but only at a few isolated ones,” he said.

On Thursday the Cabinet banned 17 substances and synthetic compounds used as constituent ingredients in cannabis substitutes sold in kiosks across Cyprus.

Until the enforcement decision is taken in the matter by the relevant government authorities, which has not yet occurred, Theodoulou called on shopkeepers to remove the dangerous substances from their shelves on their own initiative so as to help the efforts of the Health Minister and protect the island’s youth.

“We did not know what these substances were, nor what their use was and for this reason I believe that some kiosks were selling them without realising to what use the consumer would put them,” said Theodoulou.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.