MOSCOW, May 14 (RIA Novosti) – The lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, approved in a first reading on Tuesday a bill imposing fines for smoking in public places.
The bill punishing smoking in non-designated areas with fines of up to 1,500 rubles (about $48) was introduced to the State Duma in mid-February.
Deputy State Duma Speaker Sergei Zheleznyak of the ruling United Russia party said earlier in the day that the State Duma is set to approve the bill in its third and final reading by the end of the Duma’s spring session on July 14.
"These amendments... are required to enforce the implementation of the [anti-smoking] law, which comes into force on June 1, by imposing relevant sanctions for violating it,” Zheleznyak told journalists.
The anti-smoking law, signed by President Vladimir Putin in February, sets out a gradual ban on smoking in public, including in government buildings, healthcare and educational facilities, cultural sites, sports stadiums and on public transport.
The law comes into force on June 1, 2013, though some of its provisions, including a total ban on smoking in restaurants, trains and hotels, will only come into effect a year later.
The legislation also imposes a total ban on tobacco advertising. Tobacco companies will be barred from holding promotional prize draws and sponsoring public events and competitions.
The new law also prohibits display of tobacco products in shops. Sales in retail kiosks will be banned from June 2014, and minimum prices will be set for cigarettes, which currently cost as little as 40 rubles ($1.24) a pack.
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