Russia puts forth new no smoking bill
October 18, 2012
Russia, the world's second largest tobacco market only after China, has officially launched one of the biggest crackdowns on smoking. According to The Telegraph, the country has implemented a bill to get rid of tobacco advertising and eliminate smoking in certain public spaces.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev recently discussed the new ban in a video blog, where he explained that 44 million Russians, which is nearly one in three of the population, are addicted to smoking. In addition, nearly 400,000 people die each year from smoking-related conditions, according to the news outlet.
"Every year [the equivalent of] a large city disappears," Medvedev told the news source. "The government has adopted an anti-tobacco strategy and today we are beginning to put it in place."
Not only will people be banned from advertising tobacco or smoking in certain places, but the price of cigarettes will also increase, as this is believed to be one of the main reasons smoking is so popular in Russia. The country's government hopes this legislation will do a great deal to improve the life expectancy in Russia. In 2009, the life expectancy in the nation for men was 62 and was 74 for women, according to the publication.
As expected, the main tobacco companies are trying their best to soften some of the restrictions on the new bill, the media outlet reports.
According to The Associated Press, the approval of the new bill will be discussed in parliament and will most likely be signed by the president in the near future.
Those who want to discuss the new legislation can make calls to Russia using international calling cards.