Dry stall

The Moscow City Duma proposes to stop street sales of alcohol and cigarettes

Moscow City Duma deputies propose eliminating the main range of street stalls - alcohol and cigarettes. The capital's legislators intend to approach Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov with this proposal in the near future. Thus, they will continue the work of the prefect of the Northern Administrative District Oleg Mitvol, whose last year’s attempt to remove street outlets with alcohol and tobacco, at least in the territory under his control, failed. Supporters of the final elimination of kiosk trade in the city argue that this will help win over “doubting” Muscovites to the side of a healthy lifestyle.

The authors of the idea say that clearing stalls of alcohol and cigarettes will limit the “walking distance” of tobacco products and various kinds of cocktails and beer for teenagers. “It is impossible to assign a policeman to every stall to watch the sellers. It is obvious that the law does not work today; children can freely buy tobacco at any stop. We need to ban the sale of cigarettes in kiosks - this is the only solution to the problem,” said Lyudmila Stebenkova, chairman of the Moscow City Duma commission on healthcare and public health protection, yesterday. -- We will appeal to the mayor in order to extend the experience of the CAO to other districts. And if legislative changes are required, we will make them.” Ms. Stebenkova’s press secretary, Veronika Kochetova, explained to Vremya Novostey that confidence in the need for prohibitive measures appeared after test purchases with the participation of minors, during which the “experimental subjects” did not have any problems with purchasing alcohol and cigarettes. Ms. Kochetova noted that the deputies are thereby fighting for a “doubting audience” - impartial smokers, among whom there are many minors.

Lawyer of the Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights Dmitry Lesnyak, emphasizing that the OPP has not yet taken an “iron position” on this matter, told Vremya Novostei: “On the one hand, the idea is correct and seems to be aimed at social well-being, including reducing level of alcohol consumption by minors, but large retail chains and supermarkets are the winners.” He, in particular, noted that these supermarkets violate the official ban on the sale of alcohol after 10 p.m. everywhere. “If trading tents strictly followed the ban on selling alcohol to minors and at night, then there would be no harm from this,” says Mr. Lesnyak. “And if the law is passed, smokers will have to buy cigarettes in supermarkets and waste a lot of time.” The OZPP lawyer emphasized that entities whose economic interests would be affected in the event of a ban on stall trade in tobacco and alcohol would theoretically be able to appeal this in court.

“Shops are also imperfect, but, according to the results of the raids, there are fewer violations in them compared to stalls,” says Veronika Kochetova. According to her, large retail outlets, firstly, bear great responsibility, up to the confiscation of their license, secondly, they value their reputation, and thirdly, they are unattractive to teenagers. “The owners of the stall cannot have their license revoked - they simply do not receive it. And the fine imposed on sellers is very insignificant - about 1-1.5 thousand rubles,” she said. “In addition, stalls are the only place where piecemeal cigarette sales, prohibited by law, take place,” Ms. Kochetova emphasized.

Today, kiosks in the capital sell based on the assortment that entrepreneurs coordinate with district prefectures. In October 2009, the prefect of the Northern Administrative District, Oleg Mitvol, already tried to remove alcohol and tobacco from this list. He signed two orders that excluded these goods from car stores and shopping modules during stops in the north of the capital. However, on November 2, 2009, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov canceled Mr. Mitvol’s orders and warned all prefects of administrative districts to prevent such facts. Later, Mr. Mitvol expressed hope that he would be able to convince the mayor of the need for his initiative. Obviously, he has not given up on this idea until now. “My decision was legal, but due to the crisis situation in small business, a political decision was made,” he argued. A new attempt to remove cigarettes and alcohol from street stalls apparently indicates that the Moscow City Duma considered the crisis to be over and began a new offensive against stall owners.

Daria LUGANSKAYA