Status and problems of legislative regulation of circulation and consumption of nicotinecontaining goods

Objective: to study the current state of the legislative regulation of nicotine-containing products turnover and consumption; to identify the main problems in this area and to suggest possible ways to solve them. Methods: the methodological basis of the work is interdisciplinary, systematic and comparative approaches, as well as general scientific methods of cognition: induction and deduction, analysis and synthesis, abstraction, observation, and empirical methods. Results: the trend of the recent years has been the transition from the use of traditional nicotine products to electronic means of nicotine delivery, which is confirmed by a large amount of data and is explained by a number of advantages. However, the potential threats from the use of alternative nicotine-containing products have not been sufficiently studied and are accompanied by a weak legal framework for their use. In the article, the author considers the features of state regulation of nicotine-containing products that are not related to tobacco products, and analyzes the contradictions and shortcomings of legislative solutions in this area. The main consequences of equating nicotine-containing products with tobacco products are systematized, both in terms of the impact on the nicotine use restriction and of referring them to excisable products. Legislative solutions concerning the use of food nicotine-containing products and products intended for chewing, sucking, and sniffing are also analyzed. Scientific novelty: recommendations are proposed to eliminate the problems identified during the analysis of the regulation of the nicotine-containing products turnover and use. The presented measures are aimed at mitigating the regulatory impact of the nicotine-containing products use while reducing the negative impact of such products on public health.Practical significance: the provisions and conclusions presented in this paper can be used in the development of regulatory legal acts aimed at amending the legislation regulating the nicotine-containing products turnover and consumption.