Nizhny Novgorod businesses supported a ban on vapes.

      05 September 2025 11:08

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      Society Entrepreneurs of the Nizhny Novgorod Region expressed support for Governor Gleb Nikitin’s initiative to fully ban the sale of vapes, pravda-nn.ru reports.

      Members of the regional business community stressed that they support restricting the circulation of nicotine-containing and nicotine-free liquids, as well as the devices used to consume them. According to representatives of shopping centers and chain retailers, such products pose a serious threat to public health, especially among young people.

      Despite concerns that the ban could provoke discontent among merchants, entrepreneurs, on the contrary, approved the proposed measures. They believe that the spread of vapes contributes to a rise in the number of teenage smokers and creates a false impression of the safety of these devices.

      The medical community also supported the initiative. Children’s pulmonologist at NODKB Aleksandr Dvoryaninov reported that the number of underage patients who regularly use vapes is growing rapidly. According to him, children increasingly complain of coughing, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, decreased attention, and worsening memory.

      The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Entrepreneurship of the Nizhny Novgorod Region is currently developing a regulatory framework that will govern the circulation of nicotine-containing and nicotine-free liquids. However, for a regional ban to come into force, amendments to federal legislation are required.

      As soon as the federal subjects are given the opportunity to independently regulate the retail sale of vapes, the regional government, together with the Legislative Assembly, will be ready to promptly adopt the corresponding law.

      In the business community, it is believed that the ban will also help protect honest entrepreneurs from competition from those who continue to illegally sell such products to minors.

      Ilya Volkov, Commercial Director of the Oceanis shopping center, said: "We support the governor’s initiative to ban vapes in the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, we are awaiting the law coming into force and are ready to implement it among the first."

      Alexander Pushkin, Executive Director of the Narodny and Novy Vek supermarket chains, added that his company has never sold vapes and does not plan to lease retail space to tenants offering such products. In his words, this is a matter of business social responsibility.

      Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin supported the idea of banning the sale of vapes at the regional level.

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