Action in support of anti-tobacco law to take place in Ufa on November 12

The action in support of anti-tobacco law, initiated by public movement “Sober Bashkortostan”, will take place on November 12 in Ufa on the Lenin’s square. Similar actions will be held the same day in several Russian towns. These actions will be broadcasted online on a wide screen in the center of Moscow. The all-Russian action in support of anti-smoking law will start at 12 o’clock (Moscow time).

The bill “Protection of population’s health from tobacco” is directed to protection of non-smoking people and offers step-by-step introduction of restrictive measures. If the law is passed, more than 15 categories of public places can become free from smoking, such as institutions of education and culture, hospitals and sanatoriums, bus stops and railway stations, trains and aircrafts as well as beaches, offices, entrances and playgrounds. The bill also stipulates that minimal retail prices for tobacco will be raised every year at the level, higher than the index of consumer prices for foods, set by the Russian Government.

Russian State Duma intends to consider this bill in the first reading in December 2012 and it is expected that full veto on smoking in public places will be put on beginning from January 1, 2015.