The Moscow News

Fines for smoking on board a plane may rise to 50,000 rubles ($1,625) according to a bill submitted to the State Duma by a group of lawmakers representing all parties.

The sponsors of the bill propose amending the Administrative Offenses Code and introducing higher fines, a State Duma source told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

Smoking on suburban trains, and long-distance trains, including in the connecting sections, as well as on other public transport, will be punished by a fine of 1,200 - 1,500 rubles ($39-$48.80).

Smokers on board a plane will face a fine ranging from 20,000 ($650) to 50,000 rubles, or from 50 to 200 hours of community work.

The bill proposes to add a clause to the Code introducing sanctions against legal entities for failure to enforce the ban on smoking.

Self-employed business owners will pay a fine from 20,000 to 30,000 rubles ($650-$975), and companies from 50,000 to 80,000 rubles ($2,600).

A repeat offense can earn self-employed business owners a fine of 40,000 ($1,300) -50,000 rubles or suspension of operation for up to 90 days, and companies will be subject to a 80,000 -100,000 ruble ($3,251) fine, or face suspension for the same period.

On February 25, President Vladimir Putin signed the law banning smoking in public places from June this year.

"The federal law has been adopted to incorporate the provisions of the framework convention of the World Health Organization, which Russia ratified in 2008. It will regulate the protection of people from tobacco smoke and the hazardous effects of smoking," the statement on the Kremlin website says.

The law will come into force on June 1, 2013, though some provisions will only become effective a year later. These include the ban on smoking at resorts, in long-distance trains, aircraft and long haul ships, on urban and commuter transport, less than 15 meters from the entrance of railway and metro stations and airports.

June 1, 2014, will also be the date when smoking will be prohibited in hotels, cafes and restaurants, and on commuter platforms.

Under the law, tobacco companies will be prohibited from holding lotteries and sponsoring festivals, and their correspondences with bodies of power will be published.

Cigarettes will be removed from public view; stores will only be able to display a list of prices at the registers. The law also bans the sale of electronic cigarettes and naswar tobacco.

Russian watchdog digs up more horsemeat

by Aleksandras Budrys at 15/03/2013 11:09

The Moscow News

Russia’s animal and plant health watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor has discovered horse DNA in three kinds of domestically produced smoked sausage which carried no mention of horsemeat on their labels, the watchdog said in a statement on its web site.

An investigation showed the sausage contained raw products supplied from the European Union, it said.

The web site shows pictures of sausage with stamps of the large Moscow supermarket chain Azbuka Vkusa.

In a separate statement Rosselkhoznadzor said it had sent a letter to the European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Consumers asking it to inspect raw materials at companies supplying products to the Russian market for horse DNA content.

“Rosselkhoznadzor expresses grave concern after identifying that Russian products made from ground meat and trimmings imported from France contained horse meat, not declared on the label and not indicated in the recipe,” it said.

IKEA, the world's top furniture retailer, suspended earlier this month sales of sausages in its specialty restaurants in Russia after samples had revealed the presence of horsemeat. In February, horsemeat was detected in meat products from Austria labeled as sausage.