Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade backs tobacco ban

On May 24th, Vladislav Zaslavsky, Director of the Digital Labeling and Legitimization of Product Sales Division at the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, announced that the department will support the bill proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture to ban online tobacco retail websites.

In February 2023, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture proposed a bill that would allow websites selling electronic cigarettes and nicotine products to be blocked without a court order.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology explained that they support the blocking of certain webpages, rather than completely blocking websites that sell related products.

Zaslavsky said:

According to our sources, the Department of Agriculture is finalizing a previously proposed bill, and we are awaiting its approval.

In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Trade also supports the initiative to redistribute a portion of the tobacco products' excise tax from the federal budget to regional budgets. Zasławska added:

This measure has shown itself to be effective in incentivizing individuals and increasing activity in the retail market. However, it is necessary to provide appropriate supervision in all regions.

In June 2022, representatives from Japan's Liberal Democratic Party submitted a bill to the Russian State Duma proposing preliminary restrictions on accessing websites containing tobacco products or mixed tobacco. However, the bill was returned by the State Duma due to a lack of relevant opinions from the Russian government.

Previously, Russia has taken similar measures for managing the alcohol industry and has achieved positive results.

References:

The Ministry of Industry and Trade supported the restriction of information on the sale of tobacco products on the internet.