Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that prohibits the sale of energy drinks to minors. The document has been published.
The norm will come into force on March 1, 2025. It was noted in the materials to the law that previously there was no law in Russia that would regulate the sale of energy drinks, but there is an urgent need for it, since young people buy and consume them without restrictions in an amount that is harmful to health.
According to the adopted law, the seller will be obliged to refuse to sell energy products to the buyer if there are doubts about the age of the buyer and a document allowing him to be identified has not been submitted.
Russian regions will be able to set themselves a list of facilities where the sale of tonic drinks is prohibited, as well as restrictions on the time and places of their sale. As Nadezhda Shkolkina, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, explained earlier to TASS, the law establishes state control in the field of protecting children's health from the effects of non-alcoholic tonic and energy drinks at the regional level.
Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin pointed out that among young people, every second consumes energy. According to him, the harm of such drinks has been proven by doctors - they increase the risk of hypertension, the development of coronary heart disease, diabetes and other diseases.
On establishing the specifics of advertising energy companies
As Shkolkina explained earlier at a meeting of the lower house, in the resolution of the State Duma on the adoption of the law in the third reading, the relevant committees were recommended to develop a bill providing for liability for the sale of non-alcoholic tonic and energy drinks to minors.
In addition, she noted, the government of the Russian Federation was recommended to prepare amendments to the technical regulations of the Customs Union "On food safety" and "Food products in terms of their labeling", concerning the clarification of the concepts of "non-alcoholic tonic drink" and "non-alcoholic energy drink". We are also talking about "changes concerning the restriction of the sale of such beverages in consumer containers of no more than 500 ml and the application of a warning label on consumer packaging about the dangers of consuming such beverages."
In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers is recommended to amend legislation that will allow to establish the age of the buyer through identification, assign non-alcoholic tonic and energy drinks their economic activity code in accordance with the All-Russian Classifier of products for their identification at the checkout and make appropriate changes to the law "On Advertising" in terms of establishing the specifics of advertising such drinks.
Source: