Market & legal data of the tobacco alternative sector in Russia

19th February 2025: Russia: The government is actively discussing reforms in the tobacco trade, focusing on tougher liability for counterfeit sales. Instead of fines, violators may be forced to exit the market, media reports. By 3rd March, officials must compare two regulatory models: licensing tobacco sellers similar to the alcohol market or creating a permit registry. Control over the turnover will be entrusted to the Federal Service for Alcohol and Tobacco Control or to the regions. According to experts, the illegal trade in tobacco annually costs the budget more than RUB100bn (€1bn).
3rd February 2025: Russia: Bill 782111-8 has been signed by president Vladimir Putin. The bill increases fines for selling tobacco and nicotine-containing products to minors (under-18s), including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs). The maximum fine for legal entities violating this sales restriction will rise significantly, from the current range of between RUB400,000 (€3,900) and RUB600,000 (€5,800) to a new maximum of RUB2m (€19,500). Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the State Duma (lower chamber of the parliament) and a co-author of the bill, previously stated on his Telegram channel that inspections reveal sellers frequently violate the law for profit, endangering the health and lives of minors. The federal law is set to come into force on 13th February.
30th January 2025: Russia: Bill 782111-8 has been approved by the Federal Council (upper chamber of the parliament) and now goes to the president. The bill would increase fines for selling tobacco and nicotine-containing products to minors (under-18s), including heated tobacco products (HTPs) and e-cigarettes. The maximum fine for legal entities would rise significantly, from the current range of RUB400,000 (€3,900) to RUB600,000 (€5,800) to a new maximum of RUB2m (€19,500). Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the State Duma (lower chamber of the parliament) and a co-author of the bill, previously stated on his Telegram channel that inspections reveal sellers frequently violate the law for profit, endangering the health and lives of minors.
30th January 2025: Russia: Since 1st April 2024, 307m unauthorised tobacco product units have been blocked at cash registers nationwide, according to Vladislav Zaslavsky, director of the Department of Digital Labelling of Goods and Product Turnover Legalisation at the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This includes 279m cigarettes, 24m nicotine-containing products and nearly 5m alternative tobacco products. In 2024, the labelling system recorded data on 257m kg of tobacco raw materials and 55,000 litres of raw materials for nicotine-containing products. According to Zaslavsky, raw material owners can now only sell to participants registered in the system.
22nd January 2025: Russia: Bill 782111-8 has passed its third reading in the State Duma (lower chamber of the parliament) and now goes to the Federal Council (upper chamber of the parliament). The bill would increase fines for selling tobacco and nicotine-containing products to minors, including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs). The maximum fine for legal entities would rise significantly, from the current range of RUB400,000 (€3,900) to RUB600,000 (€5,800), to a new maximum of RUB2m (€19,500). Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the State Duma and a co-author of the bill, previously stated on his Telegram channel that inspections reveal sellers frequently violate the law for profit, endangering children's health and lives.
16th January 2025: Russia: The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade has drafted a governmental decree proposing to ban the sale of nicotine-containing products – including e-liquids, disposable e-cigarettes and heated tobacco consumables – sold at a price below the minimum sale price from 1st September 2025. The proposed decree aims to block sales at the checkout, and the operator of the state information system would refuse to accept documents for labelling goods for the turnover of nicotine-containing products if the actual selling price was lower than the minimum price calculated according to the law, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said.
20th December 2024: Russia: According to the tax law amendment, heated tobacco consumables will be taxed at a rate of RUB9,807 (€90) per kg from 1st January 2025. Additionally, nicotine raw materials will be taxed at a rate of RUB2.20 (€0.02) per mg from 1st January 2025.
20th December 2024: Russia: From 1st January 2025, the minimum selling price for 1 g of heated tobacco will be RUB22 (€0.20).
13th December 2024: Russia: The State Duma (lower chamber of the parliament) deputies have prepared a bill banning the sale of tobacco and nicotine-containing products at a distance of less than 100 m from the territory of university campuses, media reports. According to federal law 15, points-of-sale cannot be within 100 m of educational institutions. However, the deputies say there is a gap in the law that allows for the sale of tobacco products near university campuses, where the country’s youth actually live and study. The proposal has not been introduced to the parliament yet and has not been released to the public.
5th December 2024: Russia: The Ministry of Agriculture has calculated minimum prices for nicotine-containing products for 2025. From 1st January 2025, the minimum selling price will be increased for 1 g of heated tobacco from RUB21 (€0.19) to RUB22 (€0.20).
2nd December 2024: Russia: The State Duma chairman, Vyacheslav Volodin, has said via his Telegram channel that the State Duma (lower chamber of parliament) has begun considering a proposal aimed at “protecting minors from the consumption of tobacco and nicotine-containing products”. He said that last year, 6,496 administrative cases were initiated on violations of the tobacco retail laws, which is 53.7% more than in 2022. He further stated that the proposed bill would significantly increase fines for the sale to minors of tobacco and nicotine-containing products, devices for their consumption or raw materials for their production. The bill would also introduce a criminal liability for repeated violations. The proposal has not been released to the public yet, but the Council of the State Duma has sent it to the regions so they can provide feedback.
25th November 2024: Russia: The director of the Department for the Development of Domestic Trade of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Nikita Kuznetsov, said that a register of tobacco retailers could be introduced in Russia, media reports. He said that such an idea is currently being discussed in the government and he believes that this will help to control the number of tobacco and nicotine-containing product retailers and prevent illegal trade.

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