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Russia Proposes Banning Cigarettes For Anyone Born After 2014

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As part of government efforts to crack down on smoking and ensure that its future citizens will not become avid smokers, the Russian Ministry of Health is proposing a blanket ban on cigarettes for everyone born after 2014.

The ban means cigarettes will not be sold to those born from here on, even after they turn 18 years old – the current legal smoking age in Russia. This means a complete prohibition on cigarettes will take place in 2033, after gradually escalating, TIME reports.

This proposal is part of a project that details how the government intends to curb smoking. Russia has already prohibited smoking in restaurants since 2013.

While some experts warn that such a ban could give rise to a black market for cigarettes and fake tobacco products, the Health Ministry defended its stand. It cited the 300,000 to 400,000 Russians who die from smoking-related incidents yearly.

According to the World Health Organization, Russia has one of the highest smoking rates in the world. The proposal’s goal is to lower the country’s overall smoking rate to 25% by 2025, and to drive it down even further, Gizmodo reports. The same report claims that tobacco use in the country fell from 39% in 2009 to 33% in 2016.

Marina Gambaryan, an expert at the Health Ministry, said, “By 2033, the ban on the sale of tobacco products to people born after 2014 will not seem an extreme measure, but an entirely logical development of events.”

Other Russian politicians who approve of the ban are uncertain as to how such a large-scale prohibition could possibly be enforced, while some say that such a massive plan would need thorough discussion before it could even be approved.

In the meantime, while the ban is yet to be approved or take effect, the proposal also calls for stricter guidelines on where people can smoke in the country. In addition, cigarette packs in Russia now come with graphic warning labels to deter smokers.

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