Duma Looks to Limit Smoking Opportunities for Russian Women and Men

There has been tentative approval in the Russian State Duma to restrict smoking to specific areas in public places like waiting lounges, airports and restaurants. Fines would range from $190 for individuals and up the $3,900 for companies and establishments that fail to enforce the rules. There are no fines proposed for individual smokers.

The proposed rules would limit smoking in restaurants, ships, trains, waiting lounges and municipal government offices while smoking on airplanes would be banned completely. Designated smoking areas in restaurants would need to be ½ the space of the establishment. In other places that area would be ¼ the space.

The Russian tobacco market is the biggest in Europe. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 64 percent of Russian men and 21 percent of Russian women are smokers in Russia. The country is also behind Europe in terms of anti-smoking policies. An estimated 375,000 Russian women and men die each year from smoking-related illnesses.

Currently in Russia you are only allowed to smoke in special areas in workplaces, universities, federal government buildings, hospitals and theaters. There are not any penalties for violations and most of the time the rules are not enforced. Ironically enough, many of the Duma deputies violate the rules and spoke in their offices in the Duma.

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