--- title: Russia Cigarette Ban: Could Apply to All Born After 2014 description: Russia is proposing a ban on cigarettes to all citizens born after 2014. The country also proposed banning smoking in cars near children. canonical: https://time.com/4631213/russia-ban-cigarettes-born-2014/ author: Kerry Close article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-11T13:44:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T02:39:36.917Z article:section: Health og:title: Russia Might Ban Cigarettes for Everyone Born After 2014 og:description: As part of a government crackdown on smoking og:url: https://time.com/4631213/russia-ban-cigarettes-born-2014/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8dabd3898118906e/6988b51ca988cacee26ba9b1/gettyimages-562434663.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Man Smoking in Public Space og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Russia Might Ban Cigarettes for Everyone Born After 2014 twitter:description: As part of a government crackdown on smoking twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8dabd3898118906e/6988b51ca988cacee26ba9b1/gettyimages-562434663.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Russia Might Ban Cigarettes for Everyone Born After 2014 by [Kerry Close](https://time.com/author/kerry-close/) ## Kerry Close Jan 11, 2017 1:44 PM UTC  The Russian Ministry of Health is proposing a blanket ban of smoking for everyone born after 2014. The Russian Ministry of Health is proposing a blanket ban of smoking for everyone born after 2014.Universal Images Group—Getty Images/Universal Images Group by [Kerry Close](https://time.com/author/kerry-close/) ## Kerry Close Jan 11, 2017 1:44 PM UTC Russia is considering major steps to make sure its citizens do not become smokers. The Russian Health Ministry this week proposed a ban on selling cigarettes to people born after 2014, [Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty](http://www.rferl.org/a/russia-drastic-proposals-to-snuff-out-smoking-cigarettes/28224105.html) reports, even after they are 18, which is currently the legal smoking age in the country. That means a full prohibition of [cigarettes](http://time.com/money/4259117/costco-stops-selling-cigarettes-tobacco/) would not go into effect until 2033. The proposal is part of a document that details government efforts to curtail [smoking](http://time.com/4590517/smoking-death-lung-cancer/) in the country. Russia has already banned smoking in restaurants since 2013. Some experts warn that the ban could give rise to a black market for illegal cigarettes. But the Health Ministry defended its proposal, citing the 300,000 to 400,000 Russian citizens who die from smoking-related diseases each year. “By 2033, the ban on the sale of tobacco products to people born after 2014 will not seem an extreme measure, but an entirely logical development of events,” Marina Gambaryan, an expert at the Health Ministry, told TASS. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4631213/russia-ban-cigarettes-born-2014/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4631213/russia-ban-cigarettes-born-2014/"},"headline":"Russia Might Ban Cigarettes for Everyone Born After 2014","datePublished":"2017-01-11T13:44:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:39:36.917Z","description":"As part of a government crackdown on smoking","url":"https://time.com/4631213/russia-ban-cigarettes-born-2014/","keywords":["Smoking","russia","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8dabd3898118906e/6988b51ca988cacee26ba9b1/gettyimages-562434663.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kerry Close","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kerry-close/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8dabd3898118906e/6988b51ca988cacee26ba9b1/gettyimages-562434663.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Man Smoking in Public Space","caption":"Man Smoking in Public Space","creditText":"Universal Images Group—Getty Images/Universal Images Group","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/smoking/","name":"Smoking"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4631213/russia-ban-cigarettes-born-2014/","name":"Russia Might Ban Cigarettes for Everyone Born After 2014"}}]}] ```