Russian Officials Propose Increasing Fines for E-cigarette Advertising

According to a report from Russian media outlet News.ru, Alexander Spiridonov, Deputy Chairman of the Industrial and Trade Committee of the Russian State Duma, has proposed doubling the fines for publicly displaying e-cigarettes.

During an interview, Spiridonov pointed out that the current fine measures have failed to make retailers vigilant enough as they continue to attract the attention of minors by prominently displaying e-cigarettes containing nicotine in shop windows.

Spiridonov believes that when businesses violate e-cigarette sales regulations, their operations should be restricted for a month. He has raised issues regarding such businesses with the Federal Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare Supervision Bureau and plans to draft a bill in the near future to increase fines for individuals to 4,000 to 6,000 rubles, fines for public officials to 10,000 to 20,000 rubles, and fines for organizations to 60,000 to 100,000 rubles.

Meanwhile, Sergey Altukhov, a member of the State Duma's economic policy committee, agrees with Spiridonov's viewpoint and emphasizes the need to intensify efforts to crack down on domestic e-cigarette sales. However, Altukhov points out that the situation may vary from region to region, therefore it is necessary to listen to the opinions of local representatives. He believes that the power to determine the amount of fines can be delegated to local governments.

A proposal has been put forward by members of the Russian State Duma to implement a complete ban on advertisements of e-cigarettes in the media and online. It is emphasized that there is a need to restrict websites promoting e-cigarettes and penalties will be imposed accordingly.