In January this year, Russian State Duma deputy Sultan Hamzaev suggested learning from China’s experience and achieving regulation through nationalized tobacco industry, and put forward a new proposal to ban the sale of nicotine products.
It is understood that the Russian tobacco market is huge, with annual sales exceeding 1 trillion rubles, but illegal transactions are gradually increasing. Although some international tobacco manufacturers claim to withdraw from the Russian market, in fact they still dominate, especially tobacco manufacturers Sultan Hamzaev's new proposal will face opposition from the tobacco industry's powerful lobby, amid close coordination with the government, where several government officials have been accused of ties to big tobacco companies.
Although Russia passed a strict anti-smoking bill in 2013, its implementation was hampered by interference from tobacco industry interest groups. The government was quick to classify cigarettes as a necessity during the epidemic, raising questions about its coordination with tobacco companies. The Tobacco Industry Development Committee is still in operation today and is still chaired by a tobacco industry representative. The strong influence of tobacco companies may make it difficult for new proposals to gain broad support at the government level.
Hamzaev's call is at clear disagreement with the government's regulatory stance on the tobacco industry, especially when it comes to the interests of foreign tobacco manufacturers. The tobacco industry's influence may be a major obstacle to Russia taking a tougher stance on tobacco. In this case, Hamzaev's proposal may need more social and political support to promote reforms in the Russian tobacco industry.
