Russia's Karelia Drafts E-Cigarette Sales Ban, Modeling It on Murmansk Region's Move
The governor of Russia's northwestern Republic of Karelia said on Oct. 23 that the region is drafting legislation to ban the sale of e-cigarettes and vaping products, citing the protection of children's health and pointing to neighboring Murmansk Oblast as the reference case.
Governor Artur Parfenchikov disclosed the plan publicly, and his press secretary, Marina Kabatyuk, said the full details of the bill would be released next week. Parfenchikov said he is personally supervising the drafting and that the legislation will be completed before the end of 2026, according to Vapesee's report.
The initiative follows Murmansk Oblast, which borders Karelia to the northeast, where Governor Andrey Chibis announced earlier this month that a bill to completely ban retail sales of vapes and vape liquids had been drafted; local reports said the restrictions there could take effect in spring 2027.
Karelian lawmakers had already proposed developing a bill to ban vape trading on the model of the Murmansk region earlier this month, before the governor's announcement, regional media reported. The two regions' policy goals are aligned: authorities in both frame vapes as a pastime wrongly perceived as harmless.
Regional officials said minors systematically underestimate the risks of vaping products, which contain nicotine, carcinogens and heavy metals. Russia's federal rules already prohibit selling vapes to minors, ban online sales and prohibit public display of vaping products, and local media have reported the case of a 12-year-old boy who died after using a vape.
If adopted, a Karelia-wide retail ban would extend the tightening wave now spreading across Russia's regions, where federal law delegates room for regional restrictions on vapor-product sales — a pattern already seen this month in St. Petersburg's five-year retail ban bill and Murmansk Oblast's prohibition.
[Reference]
- Vapesee (original report) — https://vapesee.com/info/31987
- Karelinform (Karelia initiative, Oct. 15, 2026) — https://karelinform.ru/news/2026-10-15/v-karelii-predlozhili-polnostyu-zapretit-prodazhu-veypov-5708334
- Fontanka (Murmansk Oblast ban, Oct. 12, 2026) — https://www.fontanka.ru/2026/10/12/76694550/