Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev lent his support to a bill that would ban all tobacco advertisements, the Associated Press reported.

Medvedev in a message posted on his blog cited statistics from the World Health Organization that show Russia has a high smoking rate, lax regulation and low prices for tobacco products, the AP reported.
A bill before the Duma would ban tobacco advertisements, introduce a public smoking ban in phases and increase the price of cigarettes. (pi)