Russians love to smoke. In fact， 40% of them do. Thats 44 million people lighting up in restaurants， bars and on public transport. But that was before. Now， if you want to smoke in Russia， youre exiled to the pavement. Almost 400，000 Russians died from smoking-related diseases in 2012， and so President Putin has brought in a new law in a bid to improve public health.

Student： （via translator） I think that its right not to smoke in public places. You have to respect the interests of non-smokers because the air is public. To make it dirtier is bad.

This law expands on one brought in last year， which banned people smoking in workplaces， housing block stairwells， buses and commuter trains， as well as within 15 metres of train stations and airports. Now the ban has extended to restaurants. Many of them have emptied.

Igor Bukharov （Pres. of Moscow Restaurant Federation）： （via translator） We are seeing less clients. Its not clear when they will come back. We asked for the law to be introduced in the summer so people could go onto the streets and smoke there. That would make the transition smoother.

As part of the new law， too， cigarettes can no longer be put on display in shops or sold in kiosks. But with so many smokers minds to change， many think there is only one way this ban will work.

Resident： （via translator） Only a system of fines will help to solve this. In Russia， the best punishment is a fine. Fines regulate everything. Its like with the safety belts. When the fines were raised， everybody started to fasten them.

Since the tax on cigarettes went up last year， the government says fewer people now smoke. Those that still do have taken to the streets this week to obey the law， but the true test of this new ban will be in a few months when well see if smokers will still go outside for a cigarette in the cold Russian winter.

俄羅斯人喜歡抽煙。事實上，40%的俄羅斯人都是煙民。這就意味著四千四百萬人會在飯店、酒吧，以及公共交通設(shè)施內(nèi)抽煙。不過那都是過去的事情了。如今，如果你在俄羅斯想吸煙，就會被趕到人行道上去。在2012年，近四十萬俄羅斯人死于由吸煙引起的各種疾病，普京總統(tǒng)因而頒發(fā)一項新法令，以改善公眾健康。

學生：（通過翻譯）我認為在公眾場所禁煙是對的。你得尊重非吸煙人士的利益，因為空氣是大家的，污染空氣不好。

該法令是對去年頒布的一項禁令的擴展。去年的禁令規(guī)定了工作場所、公寓樓梯間、公交車、通勤列車，以及火車站和機場周邊15米范圍內(nèi)都是禁煙范圍。如今，新禁令將范圍擴大到餐館，結(jié)果是許多飯店人去樓空。

伊戈爾·布哈羅夫（莫斯科餐飲聯(lián)合會主席）：（通過翻譯）我們發(fā)現(xiàn)顧客有所減少，現(xiàn)在還不清楚他們什么時候會回來光顧。我們曾請求（有關(guān)方面）在夏天開始實施這一條例，這樣客人就可以到外面的街上吸煙，這會讓過渡更加順暢。

同時，新條例還規(guī)定商店不得再陳列香煙，報刊亭不得售賣香煙。不過，要改變那么多煙民的想法，許多人認為這條禁令只能靠一個辦法才會奏效。

居民：（通過翻譯）只有建立一個罰款制度才能解決這個問題。在俄羅斯，罰款是最有效的懲罰，罰單讓一切井然有序。就像安全帶一樣，自從罰款金額上調(diào)后，每個人都開始系安全帶了。

由于去年提高了香煙稅，政府表示如今吸煙的人數(shù)有所減少。那些依然故我的煙民本周開始就要遵照法令到街上吸煙，但是這一新禁令還要再等幾個月才會面臨真正的考驗：我們只管看看在那冷颼颼的俄羅斯冬天里，煙民還會不會跑到外面去抽煙吧。