The State Duma has proposed banning smoking on the move

Amir Khamitov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Sports Committee from the New People party, sent an appeal to Mikhail Murashko, head of the Russian Health Ministry, on Monday, December 2, where he suggested banning smoking on the go.

"Banning smoking on the go will make cities cleaner and more pleasant to live in. In addition, the ban will help to reduce the spread of smoking among young people," reads the appeal, the text of which is at the disposal of "RIA Novosti".

In the document, the deputy asked Murashko to outline the ministry's position on the possibility of making such an amendment to the law "On the protection of citizens' health from the effects of tobacco smoke". Khamitov noted that bad habits in Russian society are still quite widespread, and smoking is one of the most common among them. This situation, as the deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Sport noted, contradicts the main goal of Russian citizens - to raise a healthy and sporty young generation.

The deputy said that with the idea of banning smoking on the move he was approached by representatives of public organizations. This way of tobacco consumption is harmful to others, because it leads to passive smoking, which causes serious damage to health.

Khamitov added that smoking on the go also harms the environment, because it pollutes the air. It is also important that people litter, throwing cigarette butts, reports "Gazeta.Ru".

Earlier, October 24, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Health Sergei Leonov said that he supports the idea to ban the sale of cigarettes to Russians born after 2009. To find out the public opinion on such an initiative, the deputy proposes to conduct a social survey. Leonov noted that the problem now is that young Russians rarely smoke tobacco and prefer vapes to it.

On the same day, the Russian Health Ministry announced that it had developed a strategy to reduce tobacco consumption until 2030. Its main objective is to reduce the prevalence of smoking both tobacco and other nicotine-containing products, such as e-cigarettes. These measures will help increase the life expectancy of Russian residents.