Milonov proposed doubling fines for displaying cigarettes

Penalties have not increased for 10 years

State Duma deputies proposed increasing the amount of administrative fines for citizens from 2 thousand to 10 thousand rubles, for officials – from 5 thousand to 30 thousand rubles, for legal entities – from 30 thousand to 100 thousand rubles.

The author of the initiative, Vitaly Milonov, sent a new amendment to the Administrative Code (Part 1 of Article 14.53 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) for review by the government, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, to increase the amount of fines for violations by sellers of displaying cigarettes, tobacco, hookahs and other devices for consuming nicotine-containing products. The deputy has long considered the display and demonstration of cigarettes in stores to be one of the most common offenses.

– Tobacco is the silent enemy of our country. As a former smoker, I know very well how easy it is to fall into nicotine captivity and how difficult it is to get out of it,” says Vitaly Milonov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family Protection, Paternity, Maternity and Childhood, to MK. – I am convinced that measures to combat smoking and its demonstration should be indexed regularly, preferably with an increasing coefficient.

“Since the beginning of 2023, Moscow’s Rospotrebnadzor has received 1,177 citizen complaints regarding violations of requirements for the display of tobacco products during their sale. Based on the results of supervisory inspections, warnings were issued against 839 business entities regarding the inadmissibility of violating mandatory requirements. On a voluntary basis, 452 (53%) entities eliminated violations and brought the display of tobacco products into compliance with mandatory requirements.

In addition, the previously established fines (for citizens in the amount of 2,000 to 3,000 rubles; for officials – from 5,000 to 10,000 rubles; for legal entities – from 30,000 to 50,000 rubles) … do not clearly correlate with the progressively growing year on year by the price of tobacco products, which creates an opportunity for traders to compensate for losses from fines by increasing sales with display or demonstration of the products being sold. Provided for in Part 1 of Art. 14.53 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Pension Fund, the amount of fines has not been increased since they were established in 2013,” follows from the explanatory note to the bill.

According to the author of the bill, his initiative will not entail additional expenses from the federal budget.