Regulatory Impact Assesment of the "Anti-Smoking" Legislation Adoption in the State Duma of the Seventh Convocation

The adoption of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) drew attention to the need to regulate the tobacco industry. Russia joined the Convention in 2008, and in 2013 a framework law was adopted: Federal Law №15 "On protecting the health of citizens from exposure to ambient tobacco smoke and the effects of tobacco". Despite the strong influence of this law on the tobacco industry, there are new attempts to further tighten it. Thus, the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation developed the Draft Concept of the State Policy on Counteracting Tobacco Use for 2017-2022. So, there is a clear trend to tighten the "anti-smoking" legislation in the Russian Federation, in view of the development and implementation of the state policy to combat smoking. In this connection, may arise regulatory risks of adopting "anti-smoking" legislation, in view of the lack of transparency in the decision-making process in the Russian Federation, the lack of legislation on lobbying and the presence of well-organized interest groups. Thus, the study attempts to assess the possible risks of adopting "anti-tobacco" legislation.