Deputies from the New People faction in the State Duma, headed by Alexei Nechaev, have prepared and sent for review to the government of the Russian Federation a bill banning the sale of tobacco products or nicotine-containing products, hookahs and devices for the consumption of nicotine-containing products to Russian citizens born after December 31, 2009. This was reported to TASS by the press service of the faction.
"New people" proposed to introduce a gradual restriction on the sale of cigarettes for those born after December 31, 2009. Such a bill was sent to the government by Alexey Nechaev, Vladislav Davankov and Ksenia Goryacheva," they explained.
According to the document (available to TASS), it is proposed to amend the law "On protecting the health of citizens from exposure to ambient tobacco smoke, the effects of tobacco consumption or consumption of nicotine-containing products."
"The adoption of the bill <...> will make it possible to realize the goals of the concept of state policy against tobacco consumption and gradually withdraw tobacco and other nicotine-containing products from civil circulation, reduce the number of smokers among the younger generation to a minimum, which will in the future almost completely eliminate morbidity and mortality from diseases associated with tobacco consumption," the explanatory note says..
The developers note that the adoption of the bill will entail an annual decrease in federal budget revenues from excise taxes on tobacco products. "In the first year of the bill's adoption, the ban will affect about 400 thousand citizens who use tobacco (out of about 28 million smokers in Russia now, that is, 1%). Accordingly, in 2029-2031, revenues from tobacco excise taxes to the federal budget will decrease slightly. The approximate amount of shortfall in federal budget revenues from non-receipt of tobacco excise taxes among this category of citizens in 2029 may amount to less than 7 billion rubles at current tax rates on excise taxes," the document says.
The authors of the bill added that at the same time, according to the Russian Ministry of Health, the cost of treating smokers from smoking-related diseases amounts to over 1 trillion rubles annually, and indirect economic losses are estimated at over 5 trillion rubles. "Thus, the adoption of the bill will not entail an increase in the deficit (decrease in the surplus) of expenditures," the explanatory note says.
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