An FDA spokesperson said imported brands such as Dunhill, More, Marlboro, Winston, 555, Rothmans, Double Happie, Shooter, Black, Pall Mall, Camel and Richman were being sold at 14 stalls at the weekly market on Anjuna beach, an attraction for thousands of tourists.
"We have warned the stall owners not to sell such cigarettes. It is in violation of the Cotpa Act (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003)," FDA director Salim Veljee said.
Held weekly, the market rose to prominence in the 1970s as a haven for second-hand goods, books and electronic equipment, traded by foreigners low on money or on their way home.
The market has now metamorphosed into a bustling centre of trade selling right from Mediterranean food to exotic leather wear crammed with thousands of foreigners and Indian tourists, who hang out there.
