Russian: Saint Petersburg May Become The First Region To Ban The Sale Of E-cigarettes

According to the Spbdnevnik news report,
St. Petersburg may become the first region in Russia to ban the sale of e-cigarettes, Senator Andrei Kuzhebov said at the city's legislative assembly on Wednesday.
Kuzhebov said, "I have personally experienced this problem and am doing everything possible to ensure that St. Petersburg becomes the first city to restrict the sale of these products."
He reminded the legislators that President Vladimir Putin recently expressed support for a nationwide ban on e-cigarettes.
The senator added, "I think we will soon take more radical measures to restrict the sale of e-cigarettes because there is no clear medical evidence yet indicating how much harm e-cigarettes cause to our citizens."
The chairperson of the legislative assembly, Alexander Bersky, expressed support for this initiative and pointed out that the city government has been working for two years to remove e-cigarette vending machines from the central streets.
"We have been tirelessly fighting against e-cigarettes. For two years, we have been asking to remove the e-cigarette stalls at the corner of Nevsky Avenue and Sadovaya Street, but so far we haven't succeeded. I hope this time we will file an appeal to the administrative department and finally be able to solve this problem," Bersky said.
If approved, St. Petersburg may become the first region in Russia to implement a local-level ban on e-cigarette sales, which could set a precedent for national policy.