Ukraine introduces public smoking ban

"The adoption of this document was necessary since, according to statistics, 11 million Ukrainians are addicted to smoking as well as, unfortunately, every fourth child from 12 to 16," the initiator of the law, Tatyana Bakhteyeva, said.

According to the law, smoking cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and hookahs are prohibited in health care services, playgrounds, stadiums, elevators, phone booths, on public transport, in cafes, restaurants, and cultural facilities.

The legislation sets up to $1,250 penalty and was supported by over 80 percent of Ukrainians, Bakhteyeva said. It will come into force in six months after being published.

Smoking will also be banned at the Euro 2012 football championship which kicks off June 8 in Poland and Ukraine.

More than ten EU countries have already officially introduced smoking bans. The number of heart attacks fell by 17 percent a year after banning public smoking.

Russia's Health Ministry has submitted a draft law to parliament banning the open sale of cigarettes and smoking in public places in a bid to cut deaths.

The ministry hopes the new measures could reduce smoking by 40-50 percent, helping to reduce the annual mortality rate in Russia by 150,000-200,000 people.

The law would ban smoking in public places including common premises in residential buildings, long-distance trains, entrances to railway stations, markets and public restaurants.

Russia is the number one tobacco consumer in the world, according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). Some 44 million Russians smoke, or approximately 40 percent of the population.