Survey shows the public supports anti-tobacco moves
The overwhelming majority of Russians support a crackdown on smoking, a public opinion poll released on Friday shows. The study by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center, or VTsIOM, revealed that the most popular anti-tobacco measures are a ban on smoking in public places, which is supported by 63 percent of smokers and 93 percent of non-smokers.
A ban on tobacco advertising was also widely supported with 70 percent of smokers and 90 percent of smokers supporting an ad ban.
No smoke without fire
The research center estimated that 38 percent of Russians smoked, with 21 percent smoking one or more packets a day. The World Health Organization agreed, with its own survey putting the number of people who smoked at 40 percent of the population in 2009, with 60 percent of men smoking and 22 percent of women.
The VTsIOM study showed that men were also more likely to smoke heavily with 38 percent of male smokers consuming more than a pack a day compare with 7 percent for women. Russia's total number of smokers ranks it as having the highest percentage of smokers in the world.
Health Ministry fights back
The Health Ministry has put together a whole range of measure to try to stop smokers killing themselves. Among the initiatives are price hikes, bans on sales in kiosks and smoking bans in public places. The price hike will include a minimum retail price, which will be indexed once a year inline with inflation.
Sponsoring events by tobacco companies would also be stopped as would "stimulating sales of tobacco products." Cigarette companies will also be required to "protect the population's health from the ramifications of tobacco use."
Public support
VTsIOM's poll again shows high support for such measures. A ban on cigarette sales from vending machines is supported by 73 percent of respondents, while 61 percent support a ban on sales in kiosks. Sixty percent support a ban on showing cigarette smoking on television and in films. While a more exotic tobacco fighting measure a complete ban on cigarette displays with customers forced to choose from catalogs also saw a 60 percent support rate.
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