Russian Government To Tighten Control On Tobacco Market

The Russian government has set up a working group to work out proposals related to the tightening of state control on the country's tobacco market, told journalists Vice Premier and Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev as he commented on results of a session of the government's commission on agriculture and associated industries. According to Gordeyev, the task facing the working group is to work out mechanisms to protect tobacco producers and, simultaneously, to come up with recommendations on how to mount the campaign against illegal tobacco sales. Besides, it will also have to suggest the ways of tightening state control in the tobacco industry -- "after all, tobacco accounts for a considerable share of the federal budget," as Gordeyev put it.