Strange as it sounds, the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, has made the first moves toward an anti-smoking ban of Californian proportions. The ban would cover all workplaces, stadiums, schools, universities, theaters, hospitals, even public transport, nearly every place where Russians light up.
Russians smoke some 3 billion cigarettes each year. According to the official stats, 77% of men smoke. The chairman of the Duma health committee, one intrepid NIKOLAI GERASIMENKO, has launched a crusade to save his comrades' lungs. Gerasimenko, a surgeon from the Altai region in western Siberia, chain-smoked for three decades before converting, as...
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