From January to March 2025, the labeling system recorded about 29.6 million violations in the sale of tobacco products. This is more than twice (57%) less than in the same period of 2024. This was reported to RG by the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies (CRPT), the operator of the Honest Sign label.
Attempts to sell goods with price violations (for example, the cost of goods was below the minimum retail price or above the maximum retail price) decreased by 44%, from 37.9 million cases in the first quarter of last year to 21.3 million this year.
Sales of goods with signs of counterfeit decreased by 69%: from 10.6 million to 3.3 million. Violations in terms of sales of unmarked products decreased even more - by 79%: from 1.8 million to 373 thousand.
"One of the reasons for the rapid reduction in violations is the work of the licensing regime, which was introduced for tobacco products on April 1, 2024. If the product is overdue or illegal, the mechanism will protect the buyer and block the sale. From January 1 to April 15, 2025, due to various violations, residents of the country were unable to buy about 77 million tobacco products, they did not make payment through the cashier. We see a downward trend in the level of illegal trafficking. According to the National Scientific Competence Center for Combating Illicit Trafficking in Industrial Products (NSCC), its share is 10.8%. This is the lowest figure since 2019," commented Revaz Yusupov, Deputy General Director of the CRPT.
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