Russia: Health Ministry plans to submit anti-tobacco bill to govt in August

Source from:  Rossiyskaya gazeta 10/17/2012

The "anti-tobacco" bill should be submitted to the Russian government in August, the Russian health minister's press officer Oleg Salagai said. "The government is due to address this document on October 18. Given the time needed by the government administration to work on it, I think we should do it [submit it] this month," Salagai told Interfax on Monday. The ministry official said the document is currently undergoing a legal evaluation in the Justice Ministry. "After the legal evaluation, it should be submitted to the government. The bill has been approved by all federal executive administration bodies," the source said. Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova earlier said the work on the bill On the Protection of the Population's Health from the Consequences of Tobacco Consumption was purely technical. The bill is expected to be submitted to the State Duma by November 1. The bill is being submitted to the government for the second time. It has already been submitted to the Health and Social Development Ministry, but was rejected and returned for improvement. The first edition of the document contained a number of tough prohibitions and drew broad debate in public organizations and business communities. The second edition was drawn up by the Health Ministry. Enditem