Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

The initiatives of the government concerning restrictions on the sale of alcohol, as well as tobacco and beer advertising, should foresee a control over their fulfillment, otherwise these regulations will be only of a declarative character, Taras Rozputenko, a lawyer of the "Volkov Kozyakov and Partners" Union of Lawyers, has said

"Only in this way it is possible to hope for the effective fulfillment of these regulations and to avoid their conversion to 'dead' regulations," he told Interfax-Ukraine, commenting on a draft law of the Cabinet of Ministers on the implementation of additional restrictions on the sale of alcohol and tobacco and beer advertising.

Rozputenko said that certain amendments should be introduced into the Code on administrative violations, under which it is necessary to set out punitive penalties for violations of the mentioned restrictions.

According to Rozputenko, the agencies protecting the rights of consumers and the law enforcement agencies could oversee the observance of rules of the sale of alcohol and tobacco and the controls over the consumption of these products in public places

As reported, on October 15, 2009 the Ukrainian parliament registered a government draft law that introduces additional restrictions on the sale of alcohol, and on tobacco and beer advertising. The document, in particular, bans drinking alcohol and smoking at public transport stops, in underground passages and trade and entertainment centers, children's and sports playgrounds, parks, recreation sites and places where public events are held, and on beaches, apart from in places designated for smoking and drinking.

The government also proposed to restrict beer advertising in the same manner as strong alcohol advertising.