Top Stories from Russia
23% of the adult population are current smokers
There are approximately 26.8 million current smokers in Russian Federation
36.1% of men are current smokers but only 12.1% of women
Country profile
Data sourced:
2025.
Page updated:
2025-11-05
Smoking in Russian Federation
There has been a downwards trend in current smoking prevalence in the general population in the Russian Federation. Smoking prevalence was 42% overall in 2000, declining to 38% by 2015 with a further drop to 35% projected by 2025. This decrease has been driven by men's current smoking prevalence, which decreased from 69% in 2000 to 59% in 2015, with a further decrease to 53.5% projected by 2025. For women the trend in prevalence has been slightly upwards - it was 19% in 2000, increasing to 19.6% by 2015, and is projected to increase to 20% by 2025. The WHO published prevalence trend estimates in tobacco smoking, as shown here, in their 2018 2nd edition report, which show slightly different smoking prevalence to the WHO country profiles. Data for the estimates were obtained from WHO databases. The trend lines are projections, not predictions, of future attainment. A projection indicates a likely endpoint if the country maintains its tobacco control efforts at the same level that it has implemented them to date. Therefore the impact of recent interventions could alter the expected endpoint shown in the projection. While the methods of estimation used in the first and second editions of the WHO report are the same, the volume of data available for the second edition is larger i.e. 200 more national surveys. The results presented are therefore more robust.
224,008
Deaths
224,008 people die every year due to tobacco smoking in Russian Federation.
23.2 million €
Market size of NRT.
Estimated NRT market size is 23.2 million €.
Nicotine Vaping Devices
in Russian Federation
In the Russian Federation, e-cigarettes are legally permitted but face certain regulatory measures. According to these regulations, there are no requirements for product notifications or for child-resistant packaging, although health warnings on packaging are mandatory. Flavour restrictions are in place, and nicotine content is set at 20 mg/mL. However, there are no legal prohibitions on public use of e-cigarettes. Buying e-cigarettes online or through vending machines is not permitted, and there is a complete ban on advertising.
In 2025, an estimated 4.2 million people in Russia were current vapers and the adult current e-cigarette vaping prevalence was reported to be 3.6% in 2022. The adult daily vaping prevalence was higher among men (4.6%) compared to women (2.9%). Earlier data from 2016 indicated that 14.2% of adults had tried vaping at least once.
Heated Tobacco Products
in Russian Federation
Advertising of HTP is allowed.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy
in Russian Federation
You can't advertise NRT in Russian Federation.
Snus
in Russian Federation
Used in Scandinavia for more than 200 years, snus is providing smokers in Sweden and Norway with an alternative to combustible cigarettes. Find out what it is, and why it is considered a safer nicotine product in our briefing paper.
Pouches
in Russian Federation
Nicotine pouches are a relatively new product which can provide users of high-risk tobacco with an alternative that poses fewer risks to their health. Read more about nicotine pouches in our briefing paper
The GSTHR database is updated regularly by our team.
However, please be aware that the information we provide does not constitute legal advice.
We cannot guarantee that the information is up to date or accurate, as the regulatory status of different product
categories can change at short notice and with little publicity.
If you wish to check the legal status of use or possession of any safer nicotine product in a specific country or region,
you should verify the information independently.
If you have reason to think that the information supplied on the GSTHR is inaccurate, please contact us with details
and any references and we will rectify any errors.