But some health advocates say the measure passed by the State Duma ignores some guidelines of the international tobacco control agreement that Russia joined this year.

The legislation, which also must be approved by the upper house and signed by the president, allows cigarette makers to continue to identify some brands as "light" or "low-tar." Dmitry Yanin of the Russian consumer rights organization Konfop calls those terms "misleading."

Guidelines for the signatories to the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control specifically call for such terms to be prohibited.