Duma Cracks Down on Beer Drinkers and Smokers
The Russian Duma on Wednesday passed amendments, banning drinking beer in public. Lawmakers have also voted to ban smoking on planes and obliged cafes and restaurants to create non-smoking areas.
The Duma voted unanimously to pass the first reading of legislation, prohibiting beer drinking in streets, parks and public squares for both adults and minors. Only licensed restaurants and cafes would be allowed to serve beer and alcohol in open-air.
The bill, which still has to go through two more readings, would impose fines of up to 300 rubles ($12) on violators. Legislators plan to impose a fine of up to 3,000 rubles on beer drinking in public. Drinking vodka and other hard alcohol beverages in public is already banned.
In another bill, Duma has put new restrictions on smoking on planes, trains, boats and other public places.
Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov has backed the anti-smoking initiatives, saying that that bill help those “who care about their health and don’t want to be enveloped with smoke.”
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All the Article in Russian as of May 24, 2007
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