Smoking room in Duma to close

by Evgeniya Chaykovskaya at 25/01/2013 17:03

The Moscow News

The smoking room in Russia’s State Duma will be closed on June 1, according to the new anti-smoking law.

“In the State Duma, as well as in other government bodies, the smoking room will be removed,” said deputy Health Minister Sergei Velmyaikin.

The deputies are examining the according law in the second reading, RIA Novosti reported. When it is passed, smoking will not be allowed in any medical, cultural or educational organization, as well as official organizations from June 1.

Other public places will gradually join the smoking ban.

A complete smoking ban in public places will be implemented in 2015.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is a staunch supporter of the law, and even recorded a video advocating the ban.

In Russia, 40 percent of adults smoke.

Russian doctors troubled by growing tb infection rate

by RIA Novosti at 24/01/2013 13:51

The Moscow News

Doctors are concerned about the rising number of Russians infected with tuberculosis (TB). This number has more than doubled over the past 15 years, a senior healthcare official said on Thursday.

“Russia ranks 13th on the list of countries with the highest tuberculosis infection rate. There are over 240,000 patients with active forms of TB, four percent of them are children,” Valentina Aksyonova, Russia’s top TB doctor with the Health Ministry, told reporters in Vladivostok. “Tuberculosis is to blame for 12.2 percent of deaths from infections in Russia,” she added.

TB infection rates in Vladivostok, the largest city in the Primorye Region, are 2 ½ times higher than Russia’s average, with 3,000 new cases registered every year, Aksyonova noted.

The reason for the growth in infection rates is that many Russians neglect their health and skip annual medical exams, while parents’ refusal to vaccinate children for fear of side effects has caused the number of children falling ill with TB to double over the past 10 years, the official said. “Parents don’t realize that by refusing vaccination, they expose their children to dangerous forms of TB,” she added.

In many cases parents are afraid of possible allergic reactions to the vaccine, but the doctor said newly developed types of injections should help diminish allergy reactions. A pilot diagnostic program for children with TB will be implemented in Primorye this year.

Migrants to undergo drug tests - Russia's Chief Narcologist

by RIA Novosti at 22/01/2013 18:22

The Moscow News

Migrant workers will have to undergo drug tests when applying for jobs in Moscow, the chief narcologist of the Russian Health Ministry said Tuesday.

"The order has been signed," Yevgeny Bryun said. "I think we will start working from next week."

"Migrants will undergo testing at drug abuse clinics when receiving work permits," Bryun told journalists in the Russian capital.

He said earlier migrant workers had to be examined by doctors at drug abuse clinics to obtain work permits, but from now on they will also have to pass tests. Other Russian regions may soon employ this practice as well.