By Timothy S. Donahue

Top Takeaways:

• Digital marking under review: Russian regulators are considering extending the Chestny ZNAK track-and-trace system to e-cigarettes and vaping products.
• Enforcement focus: Rospotrebnadzor head Anna Popova says digital marking would improve visibility, accounting, and control—especially for youth access and illicit trade.
• No timeline yet: The proposal is still under review, with implementation dependent on further regulatory approval.

Russia is considering whether to extend its national digital product tracking system to vaping products, as regulators seek to tighten oversight of a fast-growing and difficult-to-police market.

Speaking during a “government hour” session in the Federation Council, Anna Popova, head of Rospotrebnadzor, said digital marking (track-and-trace system) could deliver faster, more measurable enforcement results than existing controls, particularly amid rising concern about youth vaping.

“Once marking is introduced, we can clearly see how much there was and how much there is now,” Popova said that traceability would give authorities clearer visibility into which products are circulating legally and illegally. Without such tools, she said, effective control over the scale of the vaping market would become significantly more difficult.

Russia already operates a mandatory digital track-and-trace system—known as Chestny ZNAK—covering cigarettes, alternative tobacco products, footwear, pharmaceuticals, and an expanding list of consumer goods. Tobacco products have been digitally marked since 2019, enabling regulators to track production, imports, wholesale movements, and retail sales in real time.

Extending the system to e-cigarettes and vaping products would be a major regulatory step, potentially bringing the sector closer to combustible tobacco in terms of compliance, reporting, and enforcement obligations. Officials have repeatedly raised concerns that vaping products—many of which are imported—are harder to monitor, more prone to illicit trade, and more accessible to minors.

Popova emphasized that the proposal remains under review and described digital marking as an enforcement tool rather than a standalone public health measure. No implementation timeline has been announced, and any expansion would require formal government approval and updates to existing regulations.

Enforcement is also increasing. According to Volgograd’s regional office of Rospotrebnadzor, inspectors found violations at a retail outlet in the city’s Traktorozavodsky District for selling nicotine-containing products without the required markings.

The agency said inspections identified several models of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products, including devices from the same brand that were recorded in Russia’s national digital traceability system, Honest Sign (Chestny Znak), as withdrawn from circulation.

Based on the inspection results, regulators determined that the individual entrepreneur was selling unmarked nicotine products in violation of applicable rules.