MOSCOW, March 20. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed a directive expanding powers of the Ministries of Finance, Health, and Construction in view of the adoption of the Federal Law “On the Protection of People's Health from the Effect of Ambient Tobacco Smoke and from the Consequences of Tobacco Consuming”, the government press service reported on Thursday.

The signed directive confirms supplements to the “Regulations for the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation” and empowering it to determine a procedure for indicating the minimum allowed retail prices for tobacco products, the report says.

The directive also approves the powers of the Health Ministry “to determine requirements for signs or notices about ban on smoking and a procedure for the signs’ placement, and to establish a procedure for creation and operating of hotlines for those who wish to give up smoking".

The Health Ministry is also empowered to determine a procedure for “coordination of materials, prepared by regional administration bodies of the constituent entities of the Federation to inform the population of the harm of the use of tobacco and the injurious effect of ambient tobacco smoke, as well as to approve a list of documents setting a permission age for the buyers of tobacco products, and an information and communication strategy to abate the use of tobacco,” the press service report points out.