Allowing online sales of energy drinks, vapes, alcohol, and tobacco products is contrary to Russian state policy. This was the conclusion reached by participants in a roundtable discussion titled "Legal Regulation of the Sale of Certain Age-Restricted Products on Digital Platforms," ​​which took place on December 9 at the State Duma Committee on Family Protection, Fatherhood, Motherhood, and Childhood, chaired by Nina Ostanina.
State Duma deputies, heads of ministries and agencies, representatives of public parent organizations, and representatives of the scientific and expert communities were invited to the event.
The roundtable participants noted that on December 8, the Russian President approved a healthcare development strategy through 2030, which aims to increase the proportion of citizens leading a healthy lifestyle and reduce alcohol consumption to 7.8 liters of ethanol per capita. Meanwhile, the media is actively discussing the issue of allowing online sales of energy drinks, alcohol, and tobacco.
As was reported at the roundtable, an experiment with online sales of energy drinks using biometrics has already begun in Russia. It will continue until the end of 2026. Its organizers say the second phase of the experiment will include adding alcohol and tobacco to the list of permitted products.
Nina Ostanina, Chair of the Committee for Family Protection, Fatherhood, Motherhood, and Childhood, noted that the issue of online sales of energy drinks, alcohol, and tobacco is very serious. The announcement of a pilot project to sell these products online sparked great concern among the parent community, and the committee received many angry letters.
"Anxious parents are worried that ways around this will emerge. As a co-author of the bill banning energy drinks, I know that sellers have started calling their products by other names: taurine, caffeine. We've received candies laced with alcohol, and so on. We must understand that all of this impacts our children's health. The negative impact of alcohol on public health is a common theme in the demographic policy concept for 2021-2025 and in the healthcare development strategy. Public attitudes toward biometrics are also mixed. "It's known that for every 10 million people using Gosuslugi who consent to biometric data processing, twice as many refuse," stated Nina Ostanina.
State Duma Deputy Biysultan Khamzaev directly described the promotion of online sales as lobbying initiatives by alcohol sellers, reminding that selling alcohol online is a criminal offense.
"Experts unanimously warn of the serious consequences of such initiatives. Do we want to return to the days when the alcohol market was unregulated? Absolutely not. Alcohol is a catalyst for social problems. Technology makes it easy to bypass biometric checks. We cannot support the online sales of alcohol and energy drinks—the demographic consequences will be extremely severe," said Biysultan Khamzaev.
Ekaterina Kolyada, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Right to a Miracle charitable foundation, believes that online sales proposals are primarily aimed at increasing sales of these products.

"When trading online, identity theft is much more accessible than offline. Alcohol and tobacco laws need to be tightened. We must develop a culture of health and fortitude, combat any addictions, and not encourage them from the comfort of home," explains Ekaterina Kolyada.
Meeting participants are also confident that minors will find a way to order all these unhealthy products online. Valery Korneev, Chairman of the Digital World Union of Users of Digital Platforms, is confident that "handymen" will quickly emerge who will devise ways to circumvent biometric systems.
"Even now, you can find resources online that will sell you alcohol and disguise it as courier delivery. Mantras about new approaches and technologies are designed to deceive a gullible public, so that they won't notice the simplified access minors have to alcohol and tobacco, which are deadly to them," the expert explains.
It was also noted that the idea of ​​promoting Russian wine is unfounded, as Russian-produced alcohol already accounts for up to 70% of the selection on store shelves. Moreover, there is a shortage of Russian wines, which our winemakers are unable to overcome even in offline retail in the coming years. However, even with increased production, sales of Russian alcohol can be increased through exports, for example, by sending it to markets in countries open to Russian products.
Dmitry Gusev, First Deputy Chairman of the A Just Russia faction in the State Duma, believes that expanding the sales markets for unhealthy products is contrary to national policy. The government has adopted two important documents: the "Concept for Reducing Alcohol Consumption in Russia by 2030" and the "Concept for Combating Tobacco Consumption by 2035."
"Both of these documents are designed to make our society healthier. Therefore, even discussions about allowing online sales of vapes, energy drinks, alcohol, and tobacco are out of the question." "There should be a strict ban on both sales and delivery to the public. And they should never be handed over to children. I would also add fireworks to this list; they can only be used safely under adult supervision!" Dmitry Gusev concluded.