Rosstandart has approved the state standard (GOST) for hookah tobacco, according to which the mass fraction of nicotine in such products should not exceed 3.5%. TASS has reviewed the document.
"Hookah tobacco must comply with the requirements of this standard and be manufactured according to the technological instructions, as well as the manufacturer's recipes for each specific product name. The mass fraction of nicotine in hookah tobacco is no more than 3.5%," the standard says.
According to GOST, fermented and unfermented tobacco raw materials, glycerin, propylene glycol with a basic substance content of at least 95% on an anhydrous basis, sodium carbonates, drinking and distilled water, citric acid, sodium benzoate, potassium counterpart, white sugar, starch molasses, natural honey, beet molasses, inverted syrup.
"It is allowed to use other tobacco raw materials and ingredients that meet the requirements of 4.2.2 and Appendix A and ensure the characteristics of hookah tobacco specified by the manufacturer," the document says. In accordance with GOST, the use of nicotine raw materials (liquids and nicotine salts with a content of more than 20 mg/ ml), narcotic or psychotropic substances (including plants containing them), or their precursors is not allowed for the manufacture of hookah tobacco.
The standard also defines a number of terms and contains requirements for packaging, labeling, transportation and storage. In particular, the warning about the content of "systemic poisons, carcinogenic and mutagenic substances" should occupy at least 17% of the surface of the side of the package.
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