Top Takeaways:

• Belarus is considering laws that would impose criminal charges for selling vaping products to minors.
• Lawmakers are also exploring stricter regulations on the production, imports, signage, and advertising of nicotine products.
• The proposals are part of a broader draft law that regulates tobacco and non-tobacco nicotine products.

Belarus is considering implementing criminal liability for selling vaping products to minors. The proposal was announced by Mikhail Rusy, chairman of the Standing Commission on Legislation and State Building of the Council of the Republic, during a meeting of the expert council reviewing draft tobacco and nicotine legislation.

Rusy said the circulation of vaping products has become a significant and widely discussed issue in Belarus and has been repeatedly examined by the Council of Ministers and other state institutions, including the upper house of parliament, according to media reports. The expert council is currently reviewing a draft law titled “On Tobacco Raw Materials, Tobacco Products, Non-Tobacco Nicotine-Containing Products, Electronic Smoking Systems and Liquids for Them, and Tobacco Consumption Systems.”

According to Rusy, members of the expert council conducted a detailed review of proposed regulatory approaches, with most supporting the bill. He said adoption of the legislation would enable more effective state control over the circulation of both tobacco and non-tobacco nicotine products, including electronic smoking systems, though several comments and proposed amendments were submitted.

Among the proposals under consideration are measures to remove provisions permitting domestic production of non-tobacco nicotine products, electronic smoking systems, and e-liquids, as well as the introduction of criminal liability for selling such products to minors.

Additional proposals include banning signage that indicates the sale of vaping products, such as the use of the word “vape,” setting quantitative limits on imports by organizers of international exhibitions and trade fairs, and tightening administrative penalties for violations related to production and circulation rules.

Marina Ilyina, a member of the Standing Commission on Education, Science, Culture, and Social Development, said the issue directly affects the health of children and adolescents. She also cited proposals calling for mandatory licensing and certification requirements, as well as a complete ban on advertising for vaping and other nicotine-containing products.