Draft law on caffeine thick – Society – Kommersant Kazan

The initiative of the deputies and the prosecutor of Tatarstan to ban the sale of non-alcoholic tonic drinks to children was not supported by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic. Its representatives said that the proposed restrictions entail “losses” for the business and budget of the region, as well as “violations of civil rights”, since there is no ban on the purchase of such drinks in the Russian Federation as a whole. Nevertheless, the State Council of the Republic plans to submit the bill for consideration by deputies next week. If the document is approved, for its violation, entrepreneurs will face fines of up to 150 thousand rubles. It is proposed to introduce a similar ban on the sale of lighters to minors.

On Tuesday, the State Council Committee on Law and Order approved draft amendments “to certain legislative acts of the Republic of Tajikistan in terms of establishing restrictions on the sale of certain goods to minors.” The document proposes to supplement the Code of Administrative Offenses of the republic with two articles – 2.19 (prohibits the sale of non-alcoholic tonic drinks to minors, as well as involvement in their consumption) and 2.20 (limits the sale to children of “goods for personal and household needs of citizens containing liquefied hydrocarbon gas”, and “involvement of minors in consumption by inhalation of liquefied petroleum gas).

For violation of these prohibitions, it is proposed to establish fines: for citizens – 3-5 thousand rubles, for officials – 30-50 thousand rubles, for organizations – 100-150 thousand rubles. Protocols for these violations will be able to draw up officials of urban districts and municipal districts.

Deputy Chairman of the Committee Alexander Chubarov said that the prosecutor of Tatarstan Ildus Nafikov became the initiator of the bill. “The prosecutor drew attention to the problem in time,” the deputy noted. In addition, United Russia parliamentarians became co-authors of the bill, including Yury Kamaltynov, vice speaker of the republican parliament, Lilia Mavrina, secretary of the State Council, Svetlana Zakharova, chairman of the social policy committee, and her deputy, Svetlana Vostrikova, rector of the Russian University of Cooperation, Alsu Nabiyeva, and Mr. Chubarov.

The explanatory note to the document says that “energy drink manufacturers use flavoring additives, bright packaging design, conduct a massive marketing campaign”, declaring “the positive effects of caffeine, taurine, vitamins”. This is “particularly appealing to young people and athletes”, but “regular exposure to high doses of caffeine for children and adolescents” is dangerous. The initiators of the document indicate that such drinks “cause neurological and cardiovascular disorders”, as well as depression, children develop dependence and a tendency “to risky behavior leading to drug addiction and alcoholism.” The State Council is concerned that “teenagers without any restrictions purchase energy drinks”: “The cost of one can is low, this group of consumers is not able to control the daily consumption of these drinks.”

In addition, Mr. Chubarov announced “the spread of such a phenomenon as sniffing, in which the state of toxic intoxication is achieved by inhaling liquefied hydrocarbon gases.” Such gas, in particular, is in household goods: in cans for refilling lighters or lighters themselves, in cans for portable tourist gas stoves. The deputy said that in Naberezhnye Chelny in 2021, “four cases of gas poisoning of teenagers were recorded,” and at the beginning of this year, “a minor, born in 2009, died as a result of acute poisoning with butane.” Also, several teenagers are registered in Yelabuga “due to gas consumption”.

The Ministry of Economy of Tatarstan opposed the adoption of the bill. Its conclusion, signed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Midkhat Shagiakhmetov, states that the document “reveals provisions that impose excessive administrative and other restrictions and obligations on subjects of entrepreneurial or other activities.”

According to Mr. Shagiakhmetov, the proposed restriction may affect 17.4 thousand retail outlets in the country. Difficulties and “risks of loss” will arise both for producers of soft drinks, and for retail, small-format trade. They will have to train staff so that they can determine which soft drinks can and cannot be sold to teenagers. You will also need specialized equipment, reserving funds for fines. This will lead to a decrease in trade revenue, and hence, tax revenues to the budget. The state will also need to spend money on monitoring the implementation of the new law.

The bill has been criticized by the business community. The Union of Producers of Juices, Water and Drinks noted that the ban “will introduce a restriction on the rights and freedoms of minors to purchase non-alcoholic tonic drinks that are allowed to be sold without any restrictions throughout the Russian Federation.” They recalled that, according to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, “the unity of the economic space and the free movement of goods are guaranteed.” “Civil rights may be limited on the basis of federal law,” the Soyuzdrink reminded. They also noted that the technical regulations already provide for the labeling of tonic drinks with a message that their use is not recommended under the age of 18.

The conclusion of the Ministry of Economy of Tatarstan also states that “non-alcoholic tonic drinks are not the main sources of sugars and caffeine in the diet of the Russian population.” “Their contribution to the total consumption of sugar in Russia is currently 0.1%, and caffeine – 1%,” the ministry said. According to the document, in the first half of 2022, one case was recorded when a teenager was poisoned with butane. Cases of acute poisoning with tonic drinks have not been recorded. The Small Format Trade Association said that “non-alcoholic energy drinks contain only components that are safe and permitted for food products, but as a result of such restrictions, they are actually equated to alcohol.”

“Given the current economic situation, the conclusion was made about the inexpediency and prematureness of the proposed method of regulation,” summed up the Ministry of Economy of the Republic. They also fear that “the lack of labeling for non-alcoholic tonic drinks will not allow sellers to unambiguously interpret this criterion, which will become a corruption factor in the conduct of control and supervisory activities.”

All other opinions on the bill were positive or neutral. Including he was supported by the children’s ombudsman of the republic Irina Volynets.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Tatarstan, which was recently headed by Oleg Korobchenko, the head of the Growth Party branch, and the regional business ombudsman Farid Abdulganiev, did not have any comments on the project either.

“Of course, they are worried that the tonic drinks that are now sold in mass quantities to children will be limited. And the number of sold products will decrease significantly,” Alexander Chubarov reacted yesterday to the remarks of entrepreneurs. However, he stressed that the restrictions would not apply to “sparkling lemonades”, but “specifically energy drinks”. One of the committee members described the criticism from business as follows: “And if tomorrow businessmen say: our alcohol sales are falling. Let’s allow the sale to sixteen-year-olds?”

“These are purely trade interests. But we have a conclusion about the dangers of these things from the Ministry of Health, the commissioner for the rights of the child, ”said the head of the committee, Shakir Yagudin. The deputies unanimously approved the initiative.

The project is proposed to be submitted for consideration by the State Council of Tatarstan next week.

Kirill Antonov