Legalizing online sales of alcohol, tobacco, and energy drinks is not technological progress, but a direct threat to state policy in the areas of healthcare, demography, and family protection.

Participants in a video conference organized by the Patriarchal Commission on Family Issues and the Digital World Union of Users of Digital Platforms called for an immediate end to any experiments in remote sales of goods that are detrimental to the health and future of the nation.

Arguments in favor of "digital convenience" do not hold up in the face of real consequences. Online commerce erases age barriers, circumvents controls, and makes harmful products accessible even to minors. This is not market development—it is sabotage of national goals.

According to the Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights, in 2024, approximately 220,000 children lived in families in difficult life situations or socially dangerous situations. 60,000 children were living outside the family, in guardianship institutions, 90% of whom were with living parents. At the root of most of these tragedies lies the alcohol addiction of parents.

Father Fyodor, Chairman of the Patriarchal Commission on Family Issues and the Protection of Motherhood and Childhood, stated at the conference that today, alcohol, like smoking, is objectively underestimated as a threat to the well-being of the people.

"Everyone is accustomed to the background propaganda about the dangers of alcohol and tobacco: the notorious 'smoking kills.' The public rhetoric itself on this issue resembles a discussion about people throwing trash past trash cans. Well, it's unpleasant... Yes, they violate the rules of decency... But somehow we live with it, and nothing happens, we haven't died! Meanwhile, behind this beautiful complacency lie torn families, parents who have become alcoholics, ruined children's lives, and the undermined health of women and men... The scale of this threat has yet to be fully realized, and measures aimed at countering it must be coordinated and decisive," said Father Fyodor.

State Duma Deputy Tatyana Butskaya sees major risks for the country's future in online sales of alcohol, tobacco, and energy drinks. She believes digital commerce reduces oversight and makes unhealthy products more accessible, especially to teenagers and expectant parents.
"The state is obligated to protect its citizens from any dangers. We cannot talk about traditional values, family support, and demographics while simultaneously expanding the addiction market. The nation's health is more important than online experiments," she stated.

State Duma Deputy Nikolai Valuev emphasized that over the past 15 years, Russia has achieved an unprecedented reduction in alcohol consumption—from 15.7 to 8.63 liters of ethanol per capita. Society is moving toward sobriety. "Alcohol consumption in Russian society is steadily declining year after year. Personally, I am pleased with this, because we are truly becoming more sober," he said.

First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Control Committee Dmitry Gusev:
"The experiment, billed as selling energy drinks, is being positioned as the 'first stage' of online alcohol sales—in violation of current legislation and contrary to the goals of the national strategy to reduce alcohol consumption by 2030. The consequences of legalizing online sales are increased alcohol abuse, harm to health and mental well-being, and sometimes even a direct threat to life. Experiments could be conducted with other age-restricted products. Any such 'innovations' involving the online sale of hazardous goods are absolutely unacceptable. They should not be regulated, but banned entirely—for the sake of the country's future and the protection of its citizens."

Digital World head Valery Korneev called the proposal to legalize online sales of alcohol and tobacco a dangerous illusion.

"It's more likely to lead to an increase in illegal sales than a decrease. There are already plenty of them. In 2024, Rosalkogolregulirovanie blocked more than 8,000 websites selling alcoholic beverages. "All experiments with online sales of unhealthy products must be banned. We are convinced that protecting traditional Russian spiritual and moral values ​​and preserving the health of the nation require a unified position from society, the expert community, and government agencies," concluded Valery Korneev.
As a reminder, Russia has already launched an experiment to sell energy drinks online using biometrics. Its initiators openly state that, if "successful," by 2026, the scheme will include alcohol and all tobacco products, including vapes. However, this ignores the direct goals set out in the Healthcare Development Strategy to 2030 and the State Concept for Reducing Alcohol Consumption: to reduce consumption to 7.8 liters per person per year. It also ignores the fact that treating alcohol- and tobacco-related illnesses costs the compulsory medical insurance system 70 billion rubles annually. This experiment isn't a search for balance, but rather a hope that society won't notice how, under the guise of digital modernization, old diseases are being reintroduced to the country in new ways. Banning online sales of harmful products isn't a request, a recommendation, or a single position.