The State Duma banned vapes
The State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted today in three readings a law banning the free sale of electronic cigarettes. Now vapes will be sold only in special stores from closed display cases.
The document was submitted by more than 400 deputies, led by State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.
“Over the past 10 years, this is the first breakthrough correct story from the point of view of anti-tobacco legislation. Because the package of anti-tobacco measures that the state adopted 10 years ago is insufficient today. We see that tobacco corporations have fundamentally moved towards children.
We completely ban flavored additives: mango, mint, blueberry - this is all done so that children will buy this nasty stuff. They think it’s safe, and today the problem is in almost every family,” deputy Biysultan Khamzaev told reporters on the sidelines.
He shared data from a closed survey, according to which 70% of schoolchildren have already tried e-cigarettes (75% of boys and 25% of girls).
“The industry is trying to intimidate us and says that everything will go into the shadows. But 95% of these devices are already in the counterfeit zone. Therefore, the shortfall and theft of excise taxes. And today we are talking about a ban on online sales. It is fundamentally important that the state understands that this is the first right step in the right direction.
Children must be under social armor; the state is obliged to protect them from everything harmful, bad and deadly. Vapes use salt nicotine, which causes an even greater addiction to the consumption process,” Khamzaev said. .
According to him, restrictions will be imposed on the sale of nicotine-free vapes.
According to Vice Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy, in 2021 sales of electronic cigarettes in Russia amounted to about 38 billion rubles.
“We were told that the budget would lose on excise taxes, but it seems to me that the health of generations is more important than momentary gains. We are supported by the parent community, teachers and all traditional religious denominations of the Russian Federation. These measures are not enough to completely ban it. We still have to adopt changes to the code of administrative violations, the criminal code and the tax code. This fun will cost more.
Whoever wants, pay and compensate the state for losses from the use of vapes by children. There was, is and will be pressure. They tell us that we are infringing on small businesses and violating the moratorium on inspections. “No measures that are taken in this hall will work without appropriate control,” Tolstoy said from the rostrum of parliament.
The bill was passed almost unanimously. Anatoly Wasserman abstained. He believes that the ban will only drive the entire business into the shadows.
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