Tobacco or nicotine-containing products sponsorship – any contribution to an event, activity, or individual, intended to directly or indirectly promote the sale or consumption of tobacco or nicotine-containing products.

The definition of “tobacco or nicotine-containing products sponsorship” contained in the law aligns with the definition of “tobacco sponsorship” provided in FCTC Art. 1(g). The law’s definition is also more expansive in that it applies to nicotine-containing products as well as tobacco products.

Advertising – information distributed in any manner, in any form and by any means, and addressed to indefinite set of people and aimed at attracting their attention to an advertising object, forming or maintaining their interest to it, as well as promoting it in the market.
 

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) does not contain a definition of “tobacco advertising and promotion.” However, Law 15-FZ, Art. 16.5, states that the ban on tobacco advertising shall be implemented in accordance with the Law on Advertising, which contains a definition of “advertising.” This definition captures direct advertising, but not actions that indirectly promote a product.

In order to ensure that all forms of tobacco advertising and promotion are addressed, a definition of “tobacco advertising and promotion” should be provided in accordance with the definition provided in FCTC Art. 1(c).

Any product entirely or partly made of the leaf tobacco as a raw material which is manufactured to be used for smoking, sucking, chewing or snuffing.

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) does not provide a definition of the term “tobacco product.” The law provides however that undefined terms are used with the meanings defined in the WHO FCTC, among other Russian laws.  The WHO FCTC provides a definition of “tobacco product.”  Law No. 15-FZ accordingly aligns with the FCTC.

Advertising object: a product, its means of individualization, manufacturer or seller of such product, results of intellectual activities or events (including sport events, concerts, competitions or festivals based on risk-based games or betting) which such advertising aims to attract attention to.

Improper advertising: advertising which does not comply with the requirements of the Russian Federation legislation.

Advertiser: a manufacturer or product seller or any other person which has defined an advertising object and (or) the advertising content.

Advertising producer: a person bringing information, fully or partially, into a form which is ready to be distributed.

Advertising distributor: a person distributing an advertisement in any manner, in any form, and by any means.

Consumers of advertising: persons whom an advertisement aims to attract attention to.

Sponsor: a person providing finances or facilitating the provision of finances to organize and (or) conduct a sport, cultural, or any other event, create and (or) perform tele- or radio broadcasting, create and (or) utilize any other results of creative activity.

Social advertising: information distributed in any manner, in any form and by any means, and addressed to indefinite set of people and aimed at achieving charitable and other objectives valuable to the community, as well as supporting state interests.

The law states that undefined concepts used in this law should use definitions from other sources of Russian law, including: (1) WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control; (2) Federal Law No. 268-FZ of December 22, 2008 “Technical Regulations for Tobacco Products”; (3) Federal Law No 323-FZ of November 21, 2011 “On the Basis of Protection of the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation”; and (4) Federal Law No. 381-FZ of December 28, 2009 “On the Bases of State Regulation of Trade Activities in the Russian Federation.”