Key Points:
- Despite legislative pressure, the Russian government is reluctant to ban vapes due to the significant tax revenue they generate—estimated at RUR100 billion ($1.24 billion) annually.
- The Russian vape market is expanding despite rising prices and restrictions, with vape sales growing by 4.9% from June 2024 to June 2025. This reflects a broader trend of increasing nicotine and alcohol consumption in the country.
- Officials worry that a ban could push the massive vape industry underground, increasing the dominance of counterfeit and unregulated products.
- Some lawmakers propose emulating China—allowing manufacturing but restricting domestic sales. However, this model may not work for Russia, which largely imports vapes and has limited export capability.
- As of August 3, harsh penalties are in place for illegal vape sales and label falsification, with prison terms up to eight years. Lawmakers are also considering licensing sellers to clean up the market.
- While a total ban may not happen, legislators are pushing for stronger regulations—such as age limits, sales restrictions and graphic warnings—suggesting tougher controls are imminent for the vape industry.
[2Firsts – Reporting from Europe] Russian legislators' initiative to ban the sale of vapes in the country faces stiff resistance from the federal government, which is reluctant to kill a goose laying golden eggs amid a widening budget deficit.
Public discussions of the future of the vape market in Russia have reached a critical juncture.
“We are at the point when we need to make a decision, which way to go,” Artem Metelev, a member of the State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian Parliament, told RIA Novosti.
Despite the repeated urging from Parliament, the government, mindful of its financial burdens, is against the idea of prohibiting vapes completely, Metelev acknowledged.
The potential ban on vapes in Russia could have significant financial implications. Analyst estimate that the Russian federal budget could lose around RUR100 billion ($1.24 billion) in tax income annually, according to the Russian state publication Lenta.
This figure has the potential to grow as the Russian vape market continues to expand despite a hike in prices and new restrictions. Between June 2024 and June 2025, volume sales of vapes in the country climbed by 4.9% compared with the previous year, reported Kommersant without providing absolute figures. This is a part of the general trend of growing nicotine and alcohol consumption in Russia observed during the past year.
The Russian government's reluctance to ban vapes is unsurprising considering the country’s deteriorating finances. In August, Russia's seven-month budget deficit reached RUR4.9 trillion, exceeding the target for the entire year by a quarter, according to the Russian Finance Ministry. The worsening financial situation will likely require the government to embark on a belt-tightening policy in 2026, and any initiatives that could put additional strain on the budget are unwelcome now.
However, critics contend that keeping vapes legal is penny-wise but pound foolish. According to Metelev, the costs incurred by the national healthcare system from mass vaping will exceed potential tax earnings in the long run.
The Chinese Model
With both sides dug into their respective positions, lawmakers and government members are feverishly searching for a compromise.
For example, Sergei Leonov, head of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection, recently proposed to ban vape sales but keep vape manufacturing legal. The parliamentarian cited the experience of China, which has severely restricted its domestic vape market even as it is the world’s largest supplier of vape products by a considerable margin.
The potential of this idea appears to be limited, however, because unlike China, Russia is not a significant supplier of vapes to the global market. According to various estimations, between 80% and 90% of products available on the market are imported from China. While several Russian companies have built local factories, the production volumes remain small, and there is no information about the export of vapes, except for limited trade volumes with Kazakhstan.
Fear of the Dark
In recent months, the initiative to ban vape sales has run into opposition even within the State Duma. For instance, Artem Kiryanov, deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on economic policy, has expressed concern that the restrictions may backfire, by pushing the multi-billion-dollar market into the informal sector.
"The introduction of a total ban on the circulation of vapes could have the opposite effect: the market will go into deep shadows, since state control will become impossible," Kiryanov warned.
According to Metelev, the government insist on "whitewashing" the market by getting rid of counterfeit products, primarily imports from China.
From Aug. 3, Russia significantly tightened liability for illegal sales of vapes and nicotine-containing liquids. Selling vapes without labeling is now a crime punished with up to three years in prison. Falsifying labels—a practice believed to be widespread in Russia—could cost violators up to eight years in prison.
Among other things, Russian legislators now mull a licensing scheme for vape sellers. However, many are skeptical that such amendments will make a difference in a market with a significant share of illicit products, especially in the Russian provinces where control is weaker than in the capital.
This measure will not dent the grey or black market, said Herman Lukashov, director of the Union of Enterprises of the Nicotine-Containing Products Industry.
"The only possible way to ‘whitewash’ the vape market is to reduce excise taxes and harmonize taxes," Lukashov said, explaining that there is a considerable price difference between legally sold vapes and those that avoid state control. "From Jan. 1, 2023, the excise tax on vape liquid and disposable electronic nicotine delivery systems increased by 110%. After this, the excise tax became almost prohibitive. Now, the share of the grey market in Russia is, according to our data, at least 85%.”
Lukashov expects the new bill to push many vape stores out of business.
One Way or Another
Despite the government’s opposition, Russian lawmakers are determined to tighten the screws on the vaping market.
"We are very serious about banning vapes and similar electronic smoking devices,” said Fedot Tumusov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection, citing uncertainty about e-cigarettes contents. “It may not be possible to completely ban everything, but it will definitely be possible to limit the age, limit the places of sale, limit the time of sale, and so on.” Tumusov also raised the possibility of requiring graphic health warnings on tobacco-heating products such as IQOS.
Whatever the outcome of the current discussions, Russia vape sellers are likely to face greater restrictions on their operations in the near future.
