Thoughts

The new attitude of the Russian government makes perfect sense because, according to the article, the annual national death toll attributable to smoking in Russia is approximately 400,000. Moreover, the morbidity associated with smoking is only a portion of the total societal cost of smoking because it is estimated that smoking also costs the already-cash-strapped nation the equivalent of almost $50 billion in annual healthcare costs and lost worker productivity from smoking-related illnesses. Just as in the West before the historic disclosure of previously confidential industry information by a former insider that led to multiple class action settlements from litigation initiated by various state attorneys general in the 1990s, there is a tremendous tobacco industry political lobby in Russia fighting tooth-and-nail against the proposed legislation. Generally, they represent only the selfish interests of the tobacco companies and...

In my opinion, smoking will eventually be outlawed altogether in the U.S., except, perhaps, in private homes without children, precisely because of the magnitude of harm that smoking causes in society. Today, it seems incredible that we once allowed smoking everywhere, such as on busses and planes, and with almost no restrictions about advertising. I would anticipate that Russia will take longer to get to that point, only because the anti-smoking campaign started twenty years after it did in the U.S.
Reference

Alpert, L.I. "Kremlin Cracks Down on Big Tobacco: Russia, the World's Second-Largest

Cigarette Market after China, Plans 'Harsh' Anti-smoking Rules." The Wall Street

Journal, October 15, 2012. Retrieved online:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443624204578058201182906048.html?mod=WSJ_business_whatsNews