Sounds odd that title, doesn't it? The implication is that anyone born in the year 2015 or earlier could walk into a shop in Russia right now and orders some fags.
A two-year old toddler, even a 13-month-old, going up to the counter, getting the Russian SMA equivalent, some nappies, pulped food and saying 'shit the bed, I'll have a 20-pack too please'.
Alas no, actually this law would come into effect far later and is designed to ensure the next generation are brought up with a complete ban of cigarettes, reports The Times. Generation A? B?
Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrilovitch loved a pipe. Credit: PA
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Nikolai Gerasimenko, a member of the Russian parliament's health committee, believes that this will help rid the culture of smoking in Russia: "This goal is absolutely ideologically correct," he was quoted as saying. Obviously, even though this law could come into effect soon, it will only make a tangible difference in the 2030s, when those growing up who would have previously been allowed to purchase cigarettes will no longer have that right. Currently people 18 and over can legally buy tobacco in Russia, so even if it was ratified this year it would be at least 2035 before the proposed law would be properly implemented per se.
A video which shows how much young children know about cigarettes in Russia. Credit: Globaltobaccocontrol
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov has said the proposal would need to be discussed in detail, while Elene Topoleva-Soldunova, an adviser on government policy, has worries that this could mean counterfeit tobacco would be sold on the black market, potentially having even more severe ramifications for people's health.
Fewer people smoke in Russia than ever before, with statistics showing that around 31 percent of the nation are smokers, (the UK is around 19 percent), but after introducing public restrictions on smoking in 2013 in Russia, it looks highly plausible that the Kremlin may well go further and incorporate an outright ban.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Russia