In Moscow a Russian lawmaker is initiating a bill that will ban the sale of tobacco to anyone under the age of 21. The current age is 18.
Sergei Poddubny wo is the first deputy chairman of the committing for physical culture, sport and you affairs plans to raise the issue today and the poor performance of the current anti-tobacco law.
In June of 2013, Russia institute a anti-tobacco law that banned smoking in public places such as hospitals, schools, cultural and sports facilities, administrative buildings, airports, offices and staircases in dwelling houses. In 2014 bans were added at restaurants, cafes, bars, long distance trains, platforms, hotels, markets and shop.
According to Poddubny, “The law banning smoking in public places is actually not working… At a next plenary week starting from November 10, we will have a meeting of our committee, where I will suggest a roundtable meeting be organized on issues of the implementation of the anti-tobacco law. We will also discuss the initiative to ban tobacco selling to persons younger than 21,”
The new law has the support of former professional boxer and lawmaker Nikolai Valuev who added, “As a lawmaker, I will support this bill. I think this is a right and useful initiative. But I am afraid it would not be an easy task to see to it that this law is observed,” he told Izvestia.
In October former NHL Defensemen Vyacheslav Fetisov who is now a member of the Federation Council came out with the initiate that raises the legal age to purchase alcohol from 18 to 21.
In the past, bills to change the age of alcohol and tobacco purchases e out with an initiative to raise the age of buying alcohol from 18 to 21. Bills banning to sell alcohol and tobacco to persons younger than 21 have been submitted to the State Duma more than once but were turned down each time.
Russia is home to 143.5 million people over 6,592,800 square miles.
