Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/797484
18 tobaccoasia / Issue 1, 2017 March / April By Andrey Medvedev We live in interesting times. New countries emerge on the world map. Economies rise and fall. Markets expand and shrink into irrelevance. New industries mushroom almost overnight, while old ones turn out to have feet of clay. Yet, in this ocean of uncer- tainty, there is one thing that you can bet all your money on: we are all sure to witness new, increas- ingly stringent, and often bizarre legislative efforts to curb tobacco use around the world. One front in this epic struggle to control peo- ple's right to choose is Russia, until recently a veri- table paradise for smokers, but currently one of the battlegrounds where overeager politicians are attempting to legislate smoking out of existence. Should the proposal introduced by the minis- try of health this past January be adopted, Russia will ban the sale of cigarettes to any person born after 2014, not only as long as they are minors, but also after they turn 18 years old. The intent is to turn the country's millennials into Russia's last generation of cigarette smokers. Another stated goal of the draft law is to reduce the smoking inci- dence of adults from 33% to 25% by 2025. In 2008, Russia joined the World Health Or- ganization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and later adopted the National Strategy on Combating Tobacco Con- sumption for 2010-2015. Since 2010, the Russian government has gradually "tightened the screws" on all fronts, from an increase in excise duties on tobacco to banning more and more places where smoking is permitted. In 2013, President Vladimir V. Putin, a nonsmoker, signed the law "on pro- tection of the health of citizens from the conse- quences of tobacco use" that banned smoking in most public places, raised taxes on tobacco prod- ucts, and banned the sale of them at street kiosks. This confrontation is only set to escalate with the introduction of the latest amendments to the anti- tobacco law. Fortunately, for now, the new draft legislation is just that – a draft, as it will now be discussed by the expert community and the public. So, what is being proposed? A total ban – in the future. The most con- troversial, and therefore the most debated part of Russia–Smokers' Paradise Lost