Russia: The State Duma Debates on Banning of E-Cigarettes

Timeline of events:

A 12 years-old died from smoking e-cigarettes case reveals new finding.

According to Russian media, on the latest developments in the investigation of the case of a 12-year-old boy who died from smoking e-cigarettes in January in Bicske, investigators discovered the true cause of death. It was previously speculated that the teenager died due to an overdose of e-cigarettes, causing panic among Russian residents. However, on June 21st, it was revealed that the teenager died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

This rumor was followed by a proposal in late January by members of several committees of State Duma to completely ban the sale of e-cigarettes and e-liquid in Russia in order to protect the health of the citizen state.

It was reported that Russia's e-cigarette sales are growing rapidly, and the Russian e-cigarette market accounts for about 10% of the global market. With a market size of about $500 million; the number of e-cigarette users in Russia exceeds 3 million in 2022, an increase of 700,000 people in comparison to 2018.

Duma Deputy Katasonov: Russia should not ban e-cigarettes and HNB

On June 21, Sergei Katasonov, a deputy of the State Duma of the 6th and 7th Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from the Liberal Democratic Party, is outspoken that Russia should not ban e-cigarettes and HNB. On the Eurasian Nicotine Forum in Nur Sultan he said, "E-cigarettes are not yesterday's products, we have been using them for more than a decade and have accumulated a lot of experience. Studies have shown that from a scientific point of view, non-combustion is a huge step forward. Products such as e-cigarettes and tobacco heating systems are less harmful to health."

Katasonov noted that it is necessary to allow innovative products to enter the market, although they will require research and specific regulation. He also revealed that the expert committee succeeded in getting the bill to banning nicotine-containing products rejected, but the authorities had seriously considered the initiative.

As the first deputy chairman of the Budget and Taxation Committee, Katasonov added that e-cigarettes need to be controlled in terms of product quality and taxes. An experiment with e-cigarettes and e-liquids is currently underway. In addition, experts noted that jurisdiction of the Russian tobacco market has been transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Finance. "Raising the tax rate does not necessarily increase tax revenue. On the contrary, by lowering excise taxes to an economically reasonable value, we will be able to increase budget revenues."

The Coalition of Nicotine Product Manufacturers Seeks Support from Relevant Departments to Refute a Bill Banning the Sale of E-Cigarettes

The Coalition of Nicotine Products Manufacturers (SPINI) approached Business Administration Officer Boris Titov to oppose passage of a bill to ban the sale of e-cigarettes, the aforementioned bill that emerged from the death of a 12-year-old who smoked an e-cigarette.

The SPINI representative wrote to Titov to protest the bill proposed by the LDPR faction to "completely ban the sale of e-cigarettes and e-liquid." According to SPINI president Dmitry Vladimirov, if the bill is passed, the Russian economy could lose more than 30 billion rubles just from the ban on the sale of the devices, not taking into account excise taxes and revenues from the sale of nicotine-containing liquids. He noted that the e-cigarette industry also provides more than 10,000 jobs inside Russia.

Mr. Titov’s entourages confirmed the appeal had been received.

Since March 2020, the economy of the Russian Federation has been suffering from severe challenges, such as lock-downs, embargoes, and layoffs. As a result, Russia's financial system has been hit hard.

According to SPIN, the Russian market for electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), is worth about $2.5 billion in 2022. The share of ENDS products (excluding heated tobacco products) have a share of about 22.1% of total tobacco product sales, or 37.4 billion rubles.

As the bill has been turned, the Russian State Duma's expert committee has drawn into a heated debate within the committee about banning the sale of e-cigarettes. 2FIRSTS will be closely monitoring the progress of events.

Inspector Announces Russia Will Not Ban E-Cigarettes 

The public inspector Igor Kosarev said it is premature for Russian e-cigarette makers to worry about a ban on e-cigarette sales. He indicates that the administration doesn’t support the bill. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce were the first to voice their opposition. The Russian Ministry of Health, which was most supportive of the ban, may also soon change its position to oppose the bill.

As for further regulation of the sale of e-cigarette devices, a bill drafted by the Ministry of Finance is currently being submitted to the State Duma. “It does not suggest ban on the sale of e-liquid and e-cigarettes, and in addition, the bill details various aspects of their commercial points of interest." said Kosarev.