Is there a future for vapes in Russia? It's being decided right now. The federal government and the State Duma are discussing several bills that will significantly complicate the sale of electronic cigarettes. In fact, it will be banned. Industry experts point out that "tightening the screws" will lead to the withdrawal of "electric cars" into the shadows, and they will be sold illegally in messengers, on the Internet or from cardboard boxes on the street.
Last week, two expert councils were held in the State Duma under the leadership of Artem Kiryanov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, and Sergey Katasonov, co-chairman of the State Duma Expert Council on competition development in nicotine-containing products markets, where amendments to the documents being developed were discussed.
"A total ban doesn't help"
"There is a belief in the public space that a complete ban will lead to the disappearance of certain phenomena. The same vapes," said Artyom Kiryanov. "But you and I are well aware that the ban not only does not help, but also brings all prohibited products into the shadow plane."
The State Duma deputy noted that 170,000 shops and shops selling tobacco and electronic cigarettes are now officially registered in the country. After the authorities introduced a labeling mechanism for electronic cigarettes and liquids in 2024, the number of legal specialized outlets doubled. As a rule, these are small businesses. But now the vast majority of them are under threat of closure.
"The topic is not an easy one in terms of consequences. We've called the regions. It turns out that more than 150,000 small and medium-sized companies will not be able to continue selling vapes, especially in the outback of the country," says Sergey Borisov, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the All-Russian Public Organization of Small and Medium-sized Businesses OPORA ROSSII.
The required areas will not pay off
Let's make a reservation that the key bill has been developed by the Ministry of Finance and is under discussion in the Russian government. It is not known what it looks like today. Therefore, experts are discussing one of the first versions of the document, which has several important points: a point of sale for cigarettes and vapes should have an area of 25 meters in rural areas or 50 meters in the city (like alcohol stores), be located no closer than 100 meters to educational institutions, and wholesalers should own or rent warehouses. premises from the year.
However, experts believe that a significant part of the proposals have fallen behind the times.
"The open display of tobacco products in stores is prohibited, so a retail outlet in the regions occupies up to 8-10 square meters, in Moscow – a little more. They do not need significant areas economically. It's a matter of survival. They will either cease their activities or reformat them, possibly into an illegal format," says Elena Dubankova, Director of Interaction with government authorities and the public at the SNC Group of Companies (a major distributor of tobacco products, soft drinks and carbonated drinks). – As for the storage facilities, we use the services of five operators. These are huge warehouses with cells where several customers' products are stored side by side. The warehouse owners usually sign a lease for 11 months. The owners of the premises are not ready for a long–term lease - registration of the contract with official authorities leads to additional costs."
As for the "hundred meter" - the distance from cigarette shops to schools and other educational institutions – there is no methodology for calculating it today.
Regions don't have time for checks
But that's not all.…
"Unfortunately, there is a point in the concept where regions are given the right to impose additional restrictions on the turnover of certain types of products. In our opinion, this could destroy the existing system," says Konstantin Raynot, Director of Government Relations at Philip Morris Sales and Marketing. - This is especially important for retail. If such standards are adopted, then both distribution and manufacturers will lack the opportunity to even plan their activities in the medium term, let alone ahead of schedule."
Moreover, this measure is opposed not only by industry experts, but also by ... representatives of regional authorities.
"Currently, the financial situation in most regions is not very good, to put it mildly. We even have to withdraw money from many important projects," said Gennady Spirchagov, Chairman of the Government of the Ulyanovsk Region. – Even if the regions accept all the necessary documents, everything will remain on paper. Because we absolutely do not have the opportunity to create new control bodies."
Should the excise tax be reduced?
However, this does not mean that the vaping market does not need to be cleaned up.
Labeling of vapes in the Honest Sign system has been going on since December 1, 2023. Dmitry Ovchinnikov, head of the product group at the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies (CRPT), operator of the Honest Sign state labeling system, said that in two years, illicit trafficking in nicotine-containing liquids had decreased from 79% to 65.8%. Law enforcement agencies have identified 5 illegal productions of nicotine-containing liquids. Underground factories are closed. More than 670,000 units of finished products worth more than 500 million rubles were seized.
But this is an optimistic view of the situation. Some experts believe that the share of legally produced vapes on the market does not exceed 10%!
This fact was repeatedly cited at the hearings in the State Duma. A few months ago, Rospotrebnadzor conducted a large-scale inspection of stores selling tobacco and nicotine-containing liquids across the country: out of 10,000 outlets, 3,000 were not registered. They were fined.
Moreover, both legally produced vapes and illegal ones are on the same store shelves, although their production costs differ tenfold. Of course, the consumer votes with the ruble for the cheaper one.
"To put it bluntly, the excise tax should not be optimized, but reduced. And stop demonizing this market, demonizing the product, demonizing entrepreneurs," said a member of the Board of the Union of Enterprises of the Nicotine-containing Products Industry (SPINI) Vladimir Michelovin.
For example, the observations of the experts of the association of entrepreneurs "SUPPORT of RUSSIA" show that the reduction of excise taxes on hookah mixtures has significantly increased budget revenues.
Industry experts suggest giving businesses a "soft entry" into the market, but if an entrepreneur engages in illegal activities, then a "hard exit" is organized for them. Legal merchants will be listed in a special registry. "Fell out" of it? In fact, lose the opportunity to work in the market.
Industry representatives and State Duma deputies are ready to finalize the details of possible "rules of the game."
The machine will determine the age by the face
An extremely important issue is the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors. Since September 1, 2023, the sale of vapes to children and adolescents in Russia is prohibited. But electronic smoking devices have already become part of the subculture of schoolchildren: the smell is not pungent, usually fruity, and the negative effects of use are not immediately noticeable. And teenagers continue to "soar."
"Surveys show that 30% of schoolchildren under the age of 14 are already involved in tobacco and nicotine-containing products, and almost 44% under the age of 17," says Sergey Katasonov, co-chairman of the State Duma Expert Council on the development of competition in nicotine-containing products markets. - It all comes down to how to prevent our children and teenagers from having access to vapes.: this is both a purchase and a transfer."
One of the possible options is to sell electronic cigarettes by face. Sberbank has been actively promoting contactless payments lately. We looked at the terminal's camera and the transaction took place. The same mechanism is installed in the Moscow metro. Is this technology capable of screening out minors when buying vapes?
"Theoretically– yes. At the moment, we can use our face to link to the card, check the availability of money and debit it. This is something that is already working," said Oleg Evseev, Director of Sberbank's Biometrics division. – We also suggest checking the age of the person: there is an item from the "18+" category in the basket, and the buyer will only be sold the product that corresponds to his age. But now age verification using Sberbank's biometric system is not allowed by law. We are ready to implement such a function within about six months, as the law will provide for such an opportunity."
Nicotine addiction is a disease
What happens if the sale of vapes in Russia is completely banned (and such options also sound) or impossible requirements are introduced that will put an end to legal trade?
Experts believe that e-cigarettes will be sold on telegram channels, the Internet, or even from cardboard boxes on the street.
"Nicotine addiction is nothing but a disease. With limited access to vapes, many users may switch to smoking regular tobacco," says Konstantin Kunts, member of the public Council at the Russian Ministry of Health and director of the Integration Agency. "However, with further tightening of control over tobacco products, when the need for neurochemical stimulation persists and legal products are unavailable, this may lead to an increase in demand for narcotic substances".
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