Russia Plans to Tighten Tobacco Market Regulations

According to a report by the Royal Bank of Canada on Sunday, October 23, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov stated that a fully traceable market system similar to the one used for the alcohol industry is needed to regulate the electronic cigarette industry. He emphasized that the Finance Ministry is particularly interested in bringing order to the tobacco market because it brings in funds to the budget.

We impose significantly higher taxes on tobacco than on alcohol, and there are fewer options for control," he said. He noted that the Russian Ministry of Finance has prepared legislative measures to strengthen control over the tobacco market. As such, in the summer of 2022, the Ministry of Finance proposed a draft law for relevant departments. The document specifically provides for licensing of the production and import of tobacco products. According to the draft law, the production and distribution of tobacco products on the market should be based on "honest labeling" tags.

The Head of the Russian Federal Ministry of Finance has stated that he hopes the bill will be submitted to the Duma and passed as early as 2022. The Ministry estimates that tightening regulations and cleaning up the tobacco market could bring in 100 billion rubles in revenue for the budget.

Since 2019, Russia has implemented mandatory tobacco labeling. In early 2022, the Russian Federation Prime Minister signed a decree to begin labeling electronic cigarettes as an experiment in Russia. The pilot program will run until February 28, 2023.

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