Sochi Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov today announced that, from next month, smoking in public will be allowed only in special booths. 

The booths will be installed in parks and gardens and near cafes and restaurants.

They will be made of transparent glass so that everyone could see the smokers, the Mayor said.

The latest initiative, launched to coincide with the 40th anniversary of World Environment Day, follows the decision in April to launch a campaign to make Sochi 2014 a "smoke free Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games".

The Sochi 2014 "smoking-free Games" strategy is supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and it is claimed that it will protect 155,000 athletes, delegates and volunteers from second-hand smoke on a daily basis during the Games.


Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed a nationwide crackdown on smoking as part of a wider effort to stem the country's population decline.

A draft law published by the Health Ministry last month calls for outlawing all cigarette advertising immediately, ending retail sales at kiosks within 18 months and banning smoking in public buildings such as bars and restaurants in three years.

The WHO estimates that about 39 per cent of Russia's 143 million people are habitual smokers, compared with 28 per cent in China and 27 per cent in the United States.

Smoking-related diseases kill 23 per cent of Russian men and cause economic damages equal to 6.3 percent of gross domestic product, according to the Health Ministry, which claims its draft law could save 200,000 lives a year.

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