MOSCOW, February 26 (RAPSI) – On Thursday, the Moscow Region Duma adopted in the first reading a bill to prohibit the sale of low-alcohol energy drinks and to limit the sale of non-alcoholic energy drinks in the region.
Under the bill, non-alcoholic energy drinks would only be sold to adults upon presentation of ID.

On Wednesday, the Moscow City Duma passed in the first reading the same bill. The draft law can be amended until March 10, following which the bill would be adopted in the final reading and come into effect on April 1.

The bill stipulates fines for the sale of low-alcohol energy drinks in the Moscow Region, including 100,000 to 200,000 rubles ($1,600-$3,200) for officials and 300,000 to 500,000 rubles ($4,800-$8,000) for companies.

Fines for selling non-alcoholic energy drinks to minors would range from 3,000 to 5,000 rubles ($48-$80) for individuals, 30,000 to 50,000 rubles ($480-$800) for officials and 100,000 to 150,000 rubles ($1,600-$2,400) for companies.

Similar fines would be imposed for selling non-alcoholic energy drinks at preschools, schools, medical and sport facilities and at less than 100 meters from them, or at mass events attended by minors.

Legislation that restricts the sale and consumption of low-alcohol energy drinks has been adopted in Chechnya, the Stavropol, Krasnodar and Altai territories, the Chukotka Autonomous Area, and the Tula, Kaluga, Rostov, Nizhny Novgorod and Astrakhan regions, among others.

The upper house of Russia’s parliament, the Federation Council, said it would consider banning low-alcohol energy drinks. Instructions regarding the initiative have been issued to the committees for constitutional legislation and economic policy.