According to Russia's TASS agency, the Russian government has postponed advancing a complete ban on e-cigarettes, mainly because of concerns over fiscal revenue. The Ministry of Finance estimates that taxes on e-cigarettes under the new excise-tax policy (in effect from March 2025) will bring about 156 billion rubles (≈ US$2 billion) into the state budget within two years.
In 2024, a group of lawmakers led by Yaroslav Nilov submitted a more aggressive bill to the lower house of the parliament calling for a full prohibition of e-cigarette sales. ,
In the bill's draft, the sponsors acknowledged that as of January 1, 2023, the excise tax revenue from these products had already reached 6.4 billion rubles (≈ US$80 million).
In 2024 the consumption tax more than doubled. The government - including both legislative and regulatory branches - is now debating a balanced approach that aims to respect public health concerns while also securing economic and tax interests.
Although no outright ban has yet been approved, some parliament members from the New People Party (Новые Люди) have proposed additional measures to reduce e-cigarettes' appeal - for example requiring manufacturers to adopt single-color, minimalistic, low-key packaging.
