Vladimir Putin promotes healthy lifestyle.
Speaking at the first global ministerial conference on healthy lifestyles, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin promised that the government will allocate almost half a trillion roubles on the Health National Project in the next three years. Having finished his speech, Putin passed a test for nicotine.
In the 21st century people die not so much because of wars and deadly viruses but from harmful habits that cause cancer, cirrhosis and other non-communicable diseases. Addressing physicians from all corners of the globe in Moscow, Putin said that in 20 years the frequency of such senseless deaths could jump to 75%.
"In this context Russia intends to step up the development of centres which cooperate with the World Heath Organization (WHO) on these issues and introduce the most advanced healthcare technologies, using, among other things, the potential of our major state corporations," Putin said.
He said physicians must play the key role in promoting healthy lifestyles because "healthcare is the most honourable kind of human endeavour."
"The government and ministers are usually criticised," Putin noted, hinting at the speech in which famous children's surgeon Leonid Roshal slammed the Ministry of Health and Social Development. "As a rule, government officials and department heads are deprived of this privilege (gratitude of the people). But by and large maybe this is how it should be."
Conference participants agreed that a healthcare system, even an advanced one, won't do the job alone. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan noted that "non-communicable diseases are primarily typical of wealthy industrialized countries."
"This applies to smoking above all. People should not smoke. However, they must eat and drink and we cannot change their diet. The cheapest food is the worst, and our supermarkets abound in it. The obesity index has doubled since 1980. Food must be cheap and good for people," she said.
Putin fully agreed with Chan but had to admit that it is very difficult to make an about face "considering the problems arising in the global economy, including the food market."
"However, we can certainly promote healthy lifestyles. They cost little but produce impressive results," he noted.
Chan said she saw Putin play hockey with grace and asked him for a lesson. She said a 64 year-old woman may look bizarre with a stick on ice and so asked Putin to show her some other exercise.
"As for a couple of exercises, I'm ready to show them to you but not in hockey. I'm a budding hockey player myself. I'm just learning to play. But this was an appeal for change, an attempt to show how much we can change ourselves. There are no frontiers that could not be reached in this sense."
Putin's next step was also meant to encourage others. After leaving the conference, he visited the exhibition of mini healthcare centres that the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development is opening all over the country where he passed a test for nicotine. The Smokyliser is a small device like an alcohol breathalyser -- when breathed into, it monitors the carbon monoxide in the lungs of a smoker. Having held his breath for 20 seconds, Putin blew into a special tip. Having glanced at the device's indicators, the doctor instantly told Putin that he is in "the green zone." This means that he doesn't smoke, his lungs are healthy and do not contain nicotine.
Smoking takes a toll of about five million lives per year. All anti-smoking methods are good – information, education and regulation of the market with tough standards on cigarettes. The Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development is strictly upholding the provisions of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
However, our technical regulations on tobacco products are the least rigid in Europe. Eurasec and the Customs Union are facing a difficult struggle with these relaxed regulations, which attempt to make business more profitable for tobacco producers. "Why is the Ministry of Agriculture in charge of technical regulations? Shouldn't it be a job for the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development as in the rest of the world?" Izvestia posed this question to Minister Tatyana Golikova at the final news conference.
"We occupy an active and tough stance, and sometimes manage to achieve some results. We see the lobbyists who are upholding the interests of the tobacco industry during work on the technical regulations for the Customs Union. If the Ministry of Agriculture does not cope with its job, we are ready to take charge of the matter of technical regulations and have reported to the government about this," she replied.
By Anastasia Savinykh and Tatyana Batenyova