Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin approved on Friday a national anti-smoking program that aims to slash the number of smokers in Russia to a quarter of the population.
The goal is long-term, the government said in a statement. According to the latest statistics, there are 43.9 million smokers in Russia, or 40 percent of the population. Up to 500,000 people die of smoking-related diseases every year.
Some 80 percent of Russians inhale secondary smoke every day, according to the Health Ministry. The government aims to cut this number to 50 percent, while reaching 90 percent of the population with its "anti-smoking propaganda" by 2015.
The program includes plans for a gradual increase in tobacco duties in order to bring them in line with the European standards. The average pack of Western-brand cigarettes in Russia costs less than $2, about a quarter of the price in Britain, which has among the highest tobacco taxes in the world.
It also includes the government's proposed ban on tobacco advertising, due to come into effect in 2011.
Under the current legislation, tobacco advertising is only allowed in some printed press. Outdoor tobacco advertising was banned in 2007, while TV and radio adverts has been outlawed since 1996.
MOSCOW, October 1 (RIA Novosti)
