Russian Government supported Bashkir parliament initiative to tighten rules for alcohol-containing products sale

UFA, 30 August 2017. /Bashinform News Agency, Galiya Nabieva/. The Russian Government supported a draft law, which gives the right to regions to regulate the turnover of alcohol-containing products in their territory. The Chairman of the State Assembly of Bashkortostan Konstantin Tolkachev informed about this at a meeting with the deputies.

"Over the past decade, we have repeatedly asked to give us such authority. The last bill, introduced late last year after examining and coordinating with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Health, Rospotrebnadzor, and a number of other ministries and departments, has finally been approved by the Government," said the Speaker of the regional parliament. "The draft law proposes to additionally assign the authorities of the constituent entities of the Federation the right to set time limits, conditions and places for retail sale of alcohol-containing products - up to the complete prohibition of such trade. It is related to perfume and cosmetics products, household chemicals, personal care products, windshield washers and other substances that are used by the population as surrogates of alcohol". Now, the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are entitled to impose additional restrictions only on alcohol products.

The Chairman of the State Assembly cited figures from the state report on the sanitary and epidemiological state of the population in the Russian Federation. In Russia, from 49,000 to 55,000 cases of poisoning with alcohol-containing products are recorded every year, of which about 14,000 are fatal.