Russian Authorities Urge Armenian Government to Swiftly Change Tobacco Legislation: 'Pasta'

'Pasta' reports: According to information from the 'Pasta' newspaper, a new bill on 'Restrictions on the Sale, Consumption, and Use of Tobacco Products' is set to be discussed in Parliament soon, as the current law does not align with EEU requirements.

Recently, in an interview with 1or.am, Babken Tunyan, Chairman of the Permanent Commission on Economic Affairs of the National Assembly, stated that there is no draft yet; lawmakers are only engaged in discussions regarding the law. 'This is not about a new law, but rather about making certain amendments to the existing legislation,' Tunyan said, adding that the draft will be introduced by the end of this year.

As reported by sources from the 'Pasta' newspaper, the current law, which also sparked serious discontent in Armenia, has raised concerns among EEU member countries, including Russia, where the Armenian authorities have been clearly informed that such legislation, in its current form, is simply unacceptable and must be changed as quickly as possible.

These sources also indicate that the National Assembly has decided to comply with this demand 'quietly', without much uproar, but this has not been achieved. This once again demonstrates that the current authorities frequently take steps, adopt decisions, and pass laws without adequately considering the consequences, without heeding professional opinions, as well as the viewpoints of partner countries, and are subsequently compelled to make 'corrections.'

For more details, refer to today’s issue of the newspaper.