Number of smokers among Russians decreases by 7% following implementation of anti-tobacco measures
YALTA. May 24 (Interfax) - The number of tobacco users in Russia has recently decreased from 40% to 33% of the country's citizens, Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said on Tuesday.
"During the period of implementation of the [UN Anti-Tobacco] Convention, we managed to decrease the number of tobacco users by 7%, from 40% to 33%, according to data from sociological surveys," Skvortsova said at the 'Health of people is the basis of successful development of Russia' forum, which is being held by the United Russia party in Yalta.
The minister recalled that the law on the anti-tobacco measures was drafted and adopted in 2012, and following the implementation of these initiatives, a number of positive results were achieved.
In particular, "even the industry has undergone a change, the production of cigarettes in Russia decreased by more than 16%, from 445 billion cigarettes a year to 331 billion cigarettes a year," she said.