13.09 Russian tobacco laws to reflect WHO global convention - Putin

The recommendations of the global anti-smoking convention will be reflected in Russian anti-tobacco laws, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday.

Russia, which joined the World Health Organization's anti-smoking convention in 2008, has recently approved the state anti-tobacco policy.

"We will fully reflect the norms of this international document in our domestic legislation," Putin said.

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which was adopted in 2003 and signed by more than 150 countries, aims to help national governments curb smoking that kills 5 million people throughout the world annually.

The death toll from smoking-related diseases could increase to 10 million people a year by 2020, according to WHO forecasts.

Smoking is extremely popular in Russia, with the low cost of cigarettes being a major contributing factor to the trend. According to 2009 statistics, a total of 65% of men and 30% of women were smokers. Some 80% of all male smokers and half of all female smokers started smoking under the age of 18.

MOSCOW, September 13 (RIA Novosti)�