Mandatory labeling of vapes in Russia may start from November 1

Russia may introduce mandatory labeling of electronic cigarettes and liquids containing nicotine as early as November 1, 2022, follows from the draft resolution of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, published on the official Internet portal of legal information.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade noted that they receive many requests from market participants for nicotine-containing products for the early termination of the experiment on the introduction of a labeling system, the explanatory note to the project says. “The business community draws attention to the industry’s readiness to introduce mandatory labeling from November 1, 2022 and the presence of a high market share of counterfeit nicotine-containing products,” the explanatory note specifies.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade supported the initiative of the business community and considered it appropriate to also support the early completion of the experiment with the simultaneous introduction of mandatory labeling. The department noted that this should help fight the illegal circulation of nicotine-containing products.

In January, the LDPR faction contributed to the State Duma a bill on a complete ban on vapes and electronic cigarettes. The initiative was proposed after the death of a 12-year-old boy in the city of Biysk, who, as the investigation initially believed, died after smoking a vape. Later it turned out that the boy inhaled carbon monoxide from the stove.

The experiment on marking electronic cigarettes and nicotine-containing liquids used in them began on February 1, 2022 July 28 Ministry of Industry and Trade spoke against a complete ban on the sale of electronic cigarettes and vapes, as this leads to the “formation of an uncontrolled black market.” The department clarified that this threatens with large losses to the budget, and also creates a shadow market where it is impossible to track the nicotine content in liquids.

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