Russia Bill Restricts Tobacco Sales for Those Born After 2009
Deputies from the New People faction in the State Duma, led by Alexei Nechayev, have prepared and sent a bill to the Russian government for review that would ban the sale of tobacco products, nicotine-containing products, hookahs, and devices for consuming nicotine-containing products to Russian citizens born after December 31, 2009, according to the faction’s press service.
Gradual Implementation and Proposed Amendments
The bill, a copy of which TASS has obtained, proposes changes to the law “On the protection of citizens’ health from the effects of environmental tobacco smoke, the consequences of tobacco consumption or the consumption of nicotine-containing products.” The New People faction suggests introducing a gradual restriction on the sale of cigarettes for those born after December 31, 2009.
The explanatory note states that the adoption of the bill will allow the implementation of the goals of the concept of state policy to combat tobacco consumption and gradually remove tobacco and other nicotine-containing products from civil circulation. This measure aims to reduce the number of smokers among the younger generation to a minimum, which will allow for the near-complete eradication of morbidity and mortality from diseases associated with tobacco consumption in the long term.
Potential Impact on Federal Budget Revenues
The developers acknowledge that the adoption of the bill will lead to an annual reduction in federal budget revenues from excise taxes on tobacco products. In the first year of the bill’s adoption, the ban will affect approximately 400,000 citizens who use tobacco, out of about 28 million smokers in Russia, or roughly 1%. Accordingly, in 2029-2031, revenues from tobacco excise taxes to the federal budget will decrease insignificantly. The estimated amount of lost federal budget revenues from shortfalls in excise taxes on tobacco among this category of citizens in 2029 may amount to less than 7 billion rubles at current excise tax rates.
Health and Economic Costs of Smoking
The authors of the bill cite data from the Russian Ministry of Health, which estimates that the costs of treating smoking citizens for smoking-related diseases amount to over 1 trillion rubles annually, while indirect economic losses are estimated at over 5 trillion rubles. They argue that the adoption of the bill will not lead to an increase in the deficit or a decrease in the surplus of expenditures.
The proposed bill aims to gradually phase out tobacco and nicotine-containing products in Russia, starting with those born after December 31, 2009, in an effort to reduce the health and economic burden of smoking on the nation.
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