The State Duma rejected in the first reading a bill banning any advertising of tonic (energy) drinks.
The document was submitted by a group of LDPR deputies and Senator Elena Afanasyeva. Given the harm caused by energy drinks to the health of children, adolescents, youth and adults, it is necessary to establish a ban on advertising these drinks at the federal level, as has already been done with tobacco, the authors believe.
However, the Government of the Russian Federation and the relevant State Duma Committee on Economic Policy opposed the adoption of the bill. The Cabinet of Ministers drew attention to the fact that the necessary measures to protect minors from the abuse of tonic drinks are already provided for in the law on advertising. And advertising of such drinks, including energy drinks, that do not comply with the requirements of the technical regulations of the Customs Union "On Food Safety" is prohibited.
In addition, the turnover of alcoholic beverages with an ethyl alcohol content of less than 15% containing tonic substances (components) is currently prohibited. And since the turnover of tonic drinks that meet the requirements of technical regulation is not prohibited in Russia, the proposed ban will "significantly restrict" the rights of persons involved in their production and sale, the government's official response notes.
The Committee on Economic Policy, in turn, believes that in order to achieve the goals stated by the authors of the bill, consumers should pay attention to the harm of excessive consumption of tonic (energy) drinks, rather than introducing a complete ban on their advertising.
In this regard, the committee considers it advisable to work out the issue of limiting the advertising of tonic (energy) drinks by analogy with the existing legislative restrictions on advertising of other types of goods. This "will help to reduce the use of these products, including by minors," the committee said in its conclusion.
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