The authors of the initiative believe that non-alcoholic beer can cause addiction in minors, which can later lead to the development of alcohol dependence.
The Duma Committee on Health Protection has drafted a bill banning the sale of non-alcoholic beer to minors. The draft has already been sent to the Cabinet of Ministers for review, Izvestia reported.
The publication added that the tightening will affect beer-based drinks with a strength of no more than 0.5% of a degree. The innovation may come into force from September 1, 2024.
According to the initiative, sellers in stores will have to ask for a passport when selling such drinks, violators may be held liable. However, the penalties are not specified in the document.
The explanatory note to the bill states that the current norms for restricting the sale of alcohol to teenagers apply only to drinks that contain more than 0.5% ethanol.
The authors of the initiative emphasized that "the technology of non-alcoholic beer production is similar to the production of alcohol", as ethanol is artificially removed from drinks. Such drinks cannot be considered fully purified from alcohol, the deputies noted.
The parliamentarians pointed out that the use of non-alcoholic beer can be addictive for teenagers, which entails the risk of developing alcohol dependence in the future.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Health have not yet commented on this initiative.
The Association of Beer Producers assured that brewers do not focus the realization of non-alcoholic products on teenagers.
Earlier, scientists proved the harm of non-alcoholic beer due to the presence of harmful microflora in it.