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(Moscowtimes.com) - The fight for a smoke-free Russia should be the country's fifth national project, chief epidemiologist Gennady Onishchenko said Wednesday, No Tobacco Day.
Onishchenko said smoking, along with alcoholism and AIDS, posed a serious threat to the nation's well-being.
Every year, 375,000 Russians die of illnesses related to smoking, according to Interfax, citing Onishchenko.
World Health Organization statistics show that more than 60 percent of Russian men over 15 smoke. In France, that figure drops to 30 percent to 39 percent, and in the United States to 20 percent to 29 percent.
"What's scariest is that there has been a sharp rise in smoking among women and teenagers," Onishchenko said. "That is a serious threat to the nation's health."
He called for Russians to lead healthier lives and for abolishing product placement advertising, which shows smoking in movies and television programs. He also suggested increasing cigarette prices.
Authorities have already banned cigarette advertising on television.
Federal authorities are also looking to tighten the law on smoking in public, Kommersant reported this week. A measure set to be debated in the State Duma would ban smoking in restaurants, bars and certain areas of airports.
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