Russia Passes Law for State Control of Tobacco Industry

On June 6th, according to a report from the Russian publication "Parliamentary Newspaper," the Russian State Duma passed a bill on its third reading to bring tobacco under state control. The bill has received support from the Russian Federation Council's Budget and Financial Markets Committee.

According to reports, this bill will assist the government in regulating the tobacco industry, reducing the amount of counterfeit cigarettes, and increasing revenue for the consumption tax budget.

This law establishes the state's regulation of production and distribution of tobacco products, products containing nicotine, and their raw materials. Additionally, the law mandates certain types of basic production technology equipment to be registered with the government, with the equipment types to be determined by the government. A labeling system will also be implemented to track the production and distribution of cigarettes and other nicotine-containing products.

Sergei Ryabukhin, the First Deputy Chairman of the Budget and Financial Market Committee of the Russian Federation Council, stated that...

This law has been eagerly anticipated by the people.

According to experts' estimates, the industry losses caused by the proliferation of counterfeit cigarettes in Russia range between 11% to 16%, equating to approximately 90 billion rubles.

The law that has been passed will take effect on September 1, 2023, and will help reduce the illegal production and circulation of these products and their raw materials.

Starting from March 1, 2024, a new law will impose a licensing system for the production, storage, supply and import/export of tobacco and its raw materials.

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The Committee of the Federation Council has endorsed the law on state regulation of the tobacco industry.