Source: Life Times
Liu Yupeng, special correspondent of this newspaper in Russia
Russia is a smoking country, and the resulting death toll reaches 300,000 to 400,000 every year. In order to reduce the smoking rate of the whole population, over the years, the Russian government has continuously increased its weight and adopted many strict anti-smoking measures.
In 2013, the Russian government passed the Anti-Smoking Law, which prohibits smoking in restaurants and cafes, educational, health, cultural and sports institutions, as well as at railway stations, airports, markets, and entrances to residential buildings. In addition, tobacco companies are prohibited from advertising and promotion, sponsoring public events or sports events for commercial publicity, and even strictly controlling the appearance of tobacco footage on television and movies. Anyone who dares to smoke in a place with children will be fined 2,000 to 3,000 rubles (1 ruble is about 0.09 yuan) and 1,500 rubles for smoking in a non-smoking place. An amendment to the law issued in August 2020 stipulates that if a cigarette is sold to minors, the merchant will be fined 30,000 rubles and the enterprise will be fined 150,000 rubles. In just five years after the implementation of the Anti-Smoking Law, the number of smokers in Russia has decreased by nearly half.
In November 2019, the Russian government also approved the anti-tobacco program submitted by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. The plan stipulates that by 2035, the number of adult smokers in Russia will be reduced to 21%. To achieve this goal, the Russian government raised excise taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products by 20% in 2021. According to the new amendments to the Anti-Tobacco Law, from January 1, the minimum price per pack of cigarettes in Russia is set at 108 rubles, and the average price per pack of cigarettes has risen to 140 rubles, which is 20 rubles more expensive than before. In August, the latest poll released in Russia showed that in 2020, the number of smokers fell by 1.33 million due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sociologist Yelena Kuzkova said that due to the impact of the epidemic, Russians began to pay more attention to their own health and voluntarily quit smoking. In addition, measures such as the government's vigorous promotion of the harms of smoking and the methods of smoking cessation in the media have also played a great role. Yevgeniya Kuznetsova, head of the Russian Tobacco Consumption Prevention and Control Center, said that since the implementation of the Law on the Protection of Citizens' Health from the Effects of Second-Hand Tobacco Smoke and the Consequences of Tobacco Consumption in 2014, the number of smokers in Russia has dropped sharply, and the current reduction in smokers is mainly teenagers.
Dmitry Yanin, chairman of the board of directors of the International Federation of Consumer Associations of Russia, said: "The state should also establish a system to help people quit smoking, and in the UK, every community has a consultant who is specifically responsible for helping residents quit smoking." Our country also has a smoking cessation hotline, which is printed on cigarette packs, but few people know. At present, almost 1/4 of adults in Russia smoke, which is 1.5 times the world average, and we are still one of the countries with the largest number of smokers in the world. The government plans to reduce the number of smokers to 21% by 2035, and stricter measures will be needed to achieve this goal. ”
This article is from Life Times and represents only the author's views. The National Party Media Information Public Platform provides information dissemination services.
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