Russian MPs to back groundbreaking smoking ban – speaker
The head of Russia's parliament announced on Wednesday he expects MPs to support a bill to outlaw smoking and vaping for the next generation. It would mean that those born after 2009 will never be legally able to buy tobacco, to vape or use hookahs.
The draft law would make it illegal to sell cigarettes, vapes and similar goods to anyone born after December 31, 2009. The New People faction in the parliament, which penned the legislation, sent it to the cabinet on Wednesday.
State Duma Chair Vyacheslav Volodin backed the draft law during a parliament session later in the day.
“You say some people want to boost the budget [by taxing tobacco]. Trust me, nobody does. Everyone in this chamber will vote for and support your initiative,” he promised.
The legislation tabled by the left-leaning New People faction means the legal smoking age will increase every year, eventually leading to a total prohibition for the entire population.
MP Ksenia Goryacheva, who introduced the proposal to the media at the State Duma, the lower chamber of the parliament, said the idea was that many people suffering from nicotine addiction get hooked before becoming adults. When they turn 18, many regret having acquired the bad habit and try to beat it, but few manage to do so.
“If we keep things as they are, we will keep enriching tobacco corporations in the US, the UK, Japan – the nations that currently pursue hostile policies towards Russia,” Goryacheva argued.
The only reasonable objection to the proposal, the faction believes, is that the drop in sales will inevitably lead to a drop in tax revenues. But this is not a valid concern, considering how much the Russian national healthcare system, which is funded to a large degree by taxpayers’ money, will save thanks to the reduction in illnesses caused by tobacco, the MP said.
Last year, Goryacheva said, the Russian treasury received some $7.4 billion from taxes on the tobacco industry and spent $10.6 billion on healthcare treatments for smokers. The indirect economic cost is estimated at almost $60 billion, she added.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged young people to stay away from e-cigarettes. They are quite harmful and don’t make users look cool, he said, adding that acquiring them is no big deal compared with real achievements in sports or academia.
New Zealand passed the world’s first smoking ban for the next generation in 2022 only to scrap it a year later to help pay for tax cuts. Similar legislation in the UK is currently being debated in Parliament.
