Russia Considers Launching Mobile App for Tobacco Monitoring

Regulations by 2FIRSTS.ai
May.22.2024
Russia Considers Launching Mobile App for Tobacco Monitoring
Russian Senator proposes mobile app for monitoring tobacco sales to combat youth smoking, suggesting fines for offenders.

According to the news website DEITA.RU, Russia may soon launch a mobile application for monitoring the sale of tobacco, tobacco products, and nicotine products. The app will be similar to the "Citizen Observer" app, which allows users with a proactive civic stance to report individuals violating traffic rules to authorities.

 

The advocate for this program is Senator Airat Gibatdinov. In an interview with the Parliament Gazette, he mentioned that according to data from the Russian Statistics Bureau, 64.5% of regular smokers become addicted to smoking between the ages of 15 and 19. Therefore, teenagers and young people make up a high-risk group for smoking and there should be stricter regulations in place for tobacco legislation.

 

Senator Haybat Nurayev pointed out that despite Russia banning the public display of tobacco in store windows, not everyone is complying with this ban. Typically, these tobacco products sellers are not limited to just cigarettes: they include various types of e-cigarettes, synthetic nicotine, hookah, and so on.

 

These shops can be found in shopping centers, rather than stalls and kiosks, but in designated "islands" within the exhibition hall where there is no storage area and all products are displayed outside, which is not recommended for nicotine products. Young people often go to large shopping centers for entertainment, and businesses choose to place their products in high-traffic areas, making it very convenient to purchase various flavors of e-cigarettes.

 

Due to the inability of inspectors from the Russian Federal Consumer Protection and Public Welfare Supervision Bureau to cover all commercial areas, retailers of nicotine products are not afraid to openly violate the law. Haibat Nurgaliev suggests using "Antismoking Ambassadors" (tentative name) to address the issue.

 

The Russian government and Supreme Court have received a strict anti-smoking bill proposed by lawmakers: fines for smoking in public places. Specifically, parents of underage smokers could face fines as low as 7,000 rubles.

 

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