At the meeting, the Federation Council approved a law enshrining in the legislation the concept of a "tobacco-free mixture for heating," which is used, among other things, in hookahs. At the same time, the norm prohibiting the sale of such a mixture with a nicotine content of more than 3.5% was excluded from the final version of the document.
The document was prepared by Senator Vyacheslav Timchenko. Amendments are being made to the law "On Protecting Citizens' Health from exposure to ambient tobacco smoke, the effects of tobacco use or consumption of nicotine-containing products." At the stage of the first reading, the bill proposed to supplement the law with a norm that prohibits the retail sale of tobacco-free mixtures for heating with a mass fraction of nicotine of more than 3.5%. But in the end, it was removed from the document.
The law defines a tobacco-free mixture for heating as a type of nicotine-containing or nicotine-free product, "which is a tobacco-free mixture not formed in separate portions, ready to be filled into devices for manual consumption of products." According to the explanatory note, such a mixture is intended to form an aerosol obtained by direct or indirect heating (without combustion), which is inhaled by the consumer, in particular, when using a hookah.
According to the author of the initiative, tobacco-free heating mixtures, hookah mixtures based on non-tobacco raw materials, "along with electronic nicotine delivery systems, including vapes," have begun to gain popularity in the Russian Federation. At the same time, Timchenko emphasizes, nothing prevents "intentionally adding minimal or any other amount of 'hidden' nicotine to supposedly nicotine-free mixtures." "Unlike tobacco products and nicotine-containing liquids, tobacco-free mixtures are not subject to either mandatory certification or declaration of conformity," he explained.
The law will enter into force on March 1, 2025.
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