MOSCOW, November 16 (RIA Novosti) - About 300,000 Russians die from smoking every year, a member of the lower house of parliament said Wednesday.
"The number of smoking-related deaths is about 300,000 per year, which is 25% of all deaths," Nikolai Gerasimenko, deputy chairman of the health committee, said.
He added that with more than 60% of men and 25%-30% of women smoking, tobacco supply far surpassed demand.
"Overproduction amounts to 300 billion cigarettes per year. We cannot consume such an amount, so we have to supply Britain, Finland, and Poland," Gerasimenko said.
He said Russia was the world's fourth-largest consumer of tobacco products.
Russia's chief pulmonary specialist and director of the Pulmonology Scientific Research Institute said the number of child smokers had been growing steadily in recent years.
"A study conducted in two areas of the Ryazan region showed that 10% of children under 10 were smoking," Alexander Chuchalin said.
However, Russians are well aware of the dangers posed by smoking, he said.
"94% of Russians know about the danger of smoking, with 60% recognizing that smoking is extremely dangerous," according to Dmitry Polikanov, director of the All-Russia Public Opinion Center for international and public programs.
Experts agree that Russia should ratify the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which was adopted by the organization in May 2003.
"This document has been ratified by 183 countries. Russia is among the 17 countries, mainly African, that have not done so," Gerasimenko said. "The authorities thus show that the prosperity of tobacco companies is more important than the health of the Russian people."
