Russia will become the first country in the world where will be introduced the national standard for heating tobacco. As the report says Rosstandart, GOST, developed by the Russian research Institute of tobacco, makhorka and tobacco products (Moscow) and will enter into force on 1 July 2017.
As noted in Rosstandart, the decline in the number of smokers on the market there are alternative products associated with tobacco consumption. Including the topic of heated tobacco, which is used in the system and is a heated tobacco sticks (sticks) or tobacco capsules.
“The new standard is designed to ensure that new products could present technical requirements and establish methods of control and quality,” — said in Rosstandart, adding that the GOST will provide basic requirements to the quality of such products. Russia is ready to take the initiative to develop an international standard on heated tobacco, said the Agency.
On the Russian market in the category of “heated tobacco” today there is only one type of product — sticks iQOS produced in Italy by the company Philip Morris International. In the Russian division of the company, RBC announced that they consider the introduction of a new standard “an important step”. According to the statistics Agency Kantar, the proportion of smokers of electronic devices in Russia in 2014 increased by almost two times: at the moment, every day electronic Smoking devices are 1.4% of the Russians, in 2015 this proportion was 1.1% in 2014 — 0,8%. For comparison: in the USA such smokers of 5.2%, Italy — 4,7%, in the UK of 4.1%.
“A single national standard will provide the basis for developing the regulation of innovative smokeless tobacco products are potentially reduced-risk,” — said the press service of affiliated companies “Philip Morris international” in Russia. “This document can be used as a basis for an integrated approach to state regulation of new generation products in Russia”, — agrees Vice-President of JTI, corporate Affairs and communications Russia Sergey Kiselev.
The Chairman of the Board of the Association POURRAS (Professional Alliance of participants of the Russian market of electronic nicotine systems) Maxim Korolev, however, believes that the Russian tobacco market the new standard is unlikely to have an impact. The fact that there is no mandatory certification, and adherence to the national standard is voluntary. “In relation to the quality of their company standards, I think, much tougher state standards,” — said the expert.
