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 Beyonce leaves national anthem unfinished. Musk says his new party is in business. See the best BBQ cities in the US. Iraq's national game of deception brings out the best bluffers. Report an error