Health | Russia Russia Gets Tough New Smoking Law No more lighting up in bars, offices, playgrounds By Rob Quinn Posted Feb 25, 2013 2:30 AM CST Copied Women smoke cigarettes at a shopping center in Moscow. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze) Life is about to get tougher for smokers in a country with one of the world's highest rates of tobacco use. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed tough new anti-smoking measures into law, banning smoking in workplaces, restaurants, long-distance trains, and other public places like beaches and playgrounds, the BBC reports. The anti-smoking bill—which sailed through parliament despite stiff opposition from the country's powerful tobacco industry—sets a minimum retail price for cigarettes and introduces new restrictions on advertising. The move comes as part of a push to improve public health that has already seen beer reclassified as an alcoholic drink instead of a food. Read These Next "Admiral Piett" of the Star Wars universe died from COVID. Trump voter who supported mass deportations could be deported herself. What makes a person cool? These six traits. Shooter opens fire on Texas Border Patrol Report an error