Sneakers, ballet shoes, high-heels may be banned in Customs Union following lace panties

    Russian Parliament members have proposed a ban on sneakers, ballet shoes, and high-heels in the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus for ‘health reasons’ (original in CA-News), following a ban on synthetic lace panties, the Russian media said.
    Lower house’s parliamentarian Oleg Mikheyev has already directed a request to the head of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Viktor Khristenko, the Izvestia daily writes on Thursday.
    Substantiating the move, the Duma parliamentarian said 40% of the country’s adult population was flat-footed. Earlier women were the hardest hit from wearing uncomfortable footwear, but “now men are also in the risk group,” he said.
    “Stylish sneakers, loafers, heelless moccasins are also dangerous for health,” resulting in flat-footedness, deformation of muscles of calf, varicosity, as well as venous insufficiency, he explained.
    The press service of the Eurasian Economic Commission told the newspaper that it was considering any proposal on changes to regulations, making corrections depending on their reasonableness, ITAR-TASS reported.
    Earlier, a trade directive of the Customs Union banned the import, production or sale of lace panties, saying these products did not comply with the trade bloc’s technical regulations, according to CA-News.