The key facts

  • The Health Ministry proposed expanding, as of September 1, 2027, the list of documents for age verification when buying tobacco to 14 items
  • As of October 1, licensing of wholesale and retail tobacco trade is in effect in Russia
  • Since early September, the sale of cigarettes and vapes at transport stops has been banned; vape bans have been introduced in five regions

New list of documents

Russia's Ministry of Health has proposed expanding, as of September 1, 2027, the list of documents with which a buyer can verify their age when purchasing tobacco or nicotine-containing products. According to RIA Novosti, citing the ministry's initiative, the new list of identity documents will include 14 items, among them a temporary identity card for a stateless person in the Russian Federation. Gazeta.Ru reports on the proposal.

Context: a series of restrictions in recent months

The proposal adds to a string of recent measures regulating the tobacco market. As of October 1, a law came into force in Russia on licensing wholesale and retail trade in tobacco and nicotine-containing products. Back in early September, a ban came into effect on the sale of cigarettes, vapes and other tobacco products at public transport stops — except in cases where a retail outlet near a stop is the only place selling such goods in a populated area.

Regional bans and the WHO's position

In August, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin stated that five constituent entities of the Russian Federation had introduced a legislative ban on the sale of vapes : Perm Krai, North Ossetia, as well as the Nizhny Novgorod, Penza and Saratov regions. Earlier, the WHO named giving up tobacco as one of the ways to prevent cancer. The sources do not clarify the fate of the Health Ministry's proposal to expand the list of documents — only the initiative itself is reported, along with the proposed effective date.