The Prosecutor General's Office is asked to stop the sale of energy drinks under the brand of electronic cigarettes

The Prosecutor General's Office is being asked to stop the illegal sale of energy drinks under the HQD brand of electronic cigarettes. Oleg Pavlov, head of the Public Council at Rospotrebnadzor and head of the Public Consumer Initiative (OPI), made such a request to Igor Krasnov, the head of the department.

Tonic defect: energy companies will be warned about the harm to health in advertising

The abuse of such drinks can lead to problems with the nervous system and addiction.

In a document that Izvestia has, he reports that, as part of monitoring consumer rights, social activists conducted a market study of non-alcoholic tonic (energy) drinks on the Internet. The facts of retail and wholesale sales of energy drinks, which use a trademark that simultaneously serves to brand electronic cigarettes, were revealed.

We are talking about the Chinese brand HQD. As social activists have established, in the Russian Federation its rightholder is the Russian company Meridian-Trade JSC, which simultaneously sells electronic cigarettes and beverages. This also follows from the information on the official websites with vapes and energy drinks, where the details of the organization are indicated, as well as on the company's website. Wholesale orders of products are accepted through single contacts.

"There is a gross violation of the prohibition on stimulating the sale and consumption of nicotine—containing products established by the law "On Protecting the Health of Citizens from exposure to ambient tobacco smoke, the consequences of tobacco consumption or consumption of nicotine-containing products," Oleg Pavlov told the Prosecutor General.

In the document, he points to Article 16 of this law on the prohibition of advertising and promotion of tobacco products, nicotine-containing products, and devices for its consumption. In particular, Part 1 of paragraph "b" prohibits the use of a trademark in the manufacture of products that are not tobacco products and nicotine-containing products, and the wholesale and retail trade of such goods.

"The use of a common brand helps to expand the range of consumers of HQD electronic cigarettes through energy drinks. In addition, the latter are sold openly, allowed for advertising and sale, which allows the copyright holder to increase the popularity of the brand despite the current prohibitions and restrictions," the document emphasizes.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

It's not all about one thing: in Russia they want to stop the sale of energy drinks under the brand of electronic cigarettes