Analysis
Art. 14.1 of Law No. 15-FZ (On the Protection of Public Health from Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke and from the Consequences of Tobacco or Nicotine-Containing Products Consumption) provides that health warnings on tobacco products are governed by technical regulations of the Russian Federation.
The Technical Regulations for Tobacco Products (TR TC 035/2015) provides that its provisions do not apply to smokeless tobacco products.
Pursuant to Federal Law No. 268-FZ of December 22, 2008 (Technical Regulations for Smokeless Tobacco Products) (as amended), picture and text health warnings are required to cover 50% of the top of the front and back of the main (large) sides of the smokeless tobacco product packaging or 50% of the top of the front and back of the smokeless tobacco packaging inserts. The insert size cannot be smaller than the package’s largest visible surface. The warnings must be applied to an equal number of packaging or inserts of the same type of smokeless product circulated by the manufacturer during the calendar year.
Law No. 268-FZ further requires a qualitative constituents and emissions statement (“Contains systemic poisons, carcinogenic and mutagenic substances”) on smokeless tobacco product packaging in a color that contrasts with the main color of the package. The law however does not specify the size of this statement.
By Ministry of Health Order No. 287n dated May 30, 2025, the Health Minister approved four picture and text warnings. Manufacturers, importers, and sellers of smokeless tobacco must ensure that warnings appear on smokeless tobacco packaging or inserts within 12 months of the date of the warnings’ approval.
Until that date, the law requires a single text warning to cover 30% of the front side of the package which states, “This tobacco product will harm your health.” The warning must be printed on white edged by a black frame and must be in capital letters in black against a white background with fat, clear, easily readable font of maximally large size. The interline spacing must not exceed the height of the font. The information must be equally distributed over the entire area encompassed by the border.
The prior law does not meet the minimum requirements of FCTC Art. 11 with respect to size because the warning is only on one side, while the FCTC requires a warning on both sides. Furthermore, to align with the FCTC Art. 11 Guidelines, the law should require pictorial warnings covering 50% of all principal display areas. Additionally, the law should provide for multiple rotating warnings, as a single warning will lose its effectiveness over time.
The new law aligns with FCTC Art. 11 and the FCTC Art. 11 Guidelines with respect to health warning size and rotation, but does not align with respect to location. To align with FCTC Art. 11 and the FCTC Art. 11 Guidelines, the law should require that health warnings or messages be placed on the principal display areas of smokeless tobacco product packaging (and not inserts alone) and updated every 12-36 months
