Russian Federation

Project and Country Background

The Russian Federation has a population of 143.4 million people; 45 percent of the adult male population, 17 percent of the adult female population and 9.3 percent of the youth population smoke cigarettes.1 An estimated 301,067 people die in the Russian Federation each year from diseases caused by smoking.2

TPackSS worked with in-country collaborators to purchase cigarettes in three major cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan. Within each city, packs were collected from a sample of 12 economically and socially diverse neighborhoods. Data collectors purchased one of every unique cigarette pack available from vendors selected in each neighborhood. From September 12 to September 16, 2013, data collectors purchased 505 unique cigarette packs. Less than one third of this sample had packs that contained the required health warning label. As a result, data collectors returned September 15 to September 30, 2015 and purchased 502 unique cigarette packs.

The tobacco packaging and labeling requirements in effect at the time of data collection were used to assess each tobacco pack’s compliance with the requirements.  

Suggested Citation for Information on this Page: Tobacco Pack Surveillance System (TPackSS). Russian Federation: Project and Country Background. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. http://globaltobaccocontrol.org/tpackss/country/russian-federation [Insert Last Updated Date].

Browse packs from Russian Federation

Highlights of Packaging and Labeling Requirements by Data Collection Year

Data collection dates Type of warning Warning label size and layout Number of warnings to be displayed Rotation Rules for misleading descriptors Other warning label requirements considered during coding

Sept. 12 to Sept. 16, 2013

[505 unique packs collected]

Pictures and Text
30% of front (text), 50% of back (picture)

13

All labels displayed concurrently and are intended to be changed every year

Some restrictions

Warnings may not be placed where they may be concealed or damaged when opening the pack. Warning text: printed in all capital letters; black on a white background framed by a black border. Pictorial warning framed by a black border.

Sept. 15 to Sept. 30, 2015

[502 unique packs collected]

Pictures and Text
30% of front (text), 50% of back (picture)

13

All labels displayed concurrently and are intended to be changed every year

Some restrictions

Warnings may not be placed where they may be concealed or damaged when opening the pack. Warning text: printed in all capital letters; black on a white background framed by a black border. Pictorial warning framed by a black border.

Tobacco packaging and labeling in the Russian Federation is regulated under Federal Law No. 268-FZ. Federal Law No. 268-FZ on Technical Regulations for Tobacco Products was passed in 2008 and Order No. 490N was issued on May 5, 2012. Order No. 490N mandates graphic health warning labels.3

  1. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, Country profile Russia. (2017). Retrieved October 25, 2018

    from http://www.who.int/tobacco/surveillance/policy/country_profile/rus.pdf.

  2. Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017) Results by Location, Cause, and Risk Factor. Retrieved November 29, 2018

    from http://ihmeuw.org/4noo.

  3. Tobacco Control Laws Country Details for Russia: Packaging and Labeling. (2015). Retrieved April 21, 2016

    from http://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/legislation/country/russia/pl-health-warnings.