Impeding personal grooming

last updated 8 January 2015

Moscow

New regulations intended to increase government control over alcohol have greatly hampered sales of perfume, hairspray, and other personal products. Under a law that went into effect last month, any product that contains at least 1.5 percent alcohol must be registered in a government database, and all product shipments reported. But because the government agency responsible for the database has yet to set it up, shipments of many personal care products—including skin creams, acne treatments, and hair gels—have been halted. Many store shelves are already empty. “The products are there as long as they last,” said Viktor Kramarenko, spokesman for Procter & Gamble. “Then it’s back to Soviet times. I would stock up now.”