Penza, 31 May 2011. PenzaNews. The idea of a prohibition of smoking for officials presented by the Governor of the Penza region Vasily Bochkarev on the eve of the World Day Without Tobacco caused a wide public resonance. As it was reported by "PenzaNews", the Head of the region promised to dismiss all employees of the ministries and departments, who have an addiction to smoking.

The initiative of Penza Governor was supported by the Vice-President of the Committee of the Federation Council of Social Policy and Public Health Services, by the representative of the executive office of the government of the Samara region in the Federation Council of Konstantin Titov, the Vice-President of committee of the Federation Council concerning the development of the institutes of the civil society, the representative of the executive office of the government of the Nizhniy Novgorod region in Council of Federation Valery Shnjakin, and also the committee-man of the Federation Council on affairs of the CIS, the representative in Council of the Federation from administration of the Kurgan region Oleg Panteleev.

Konstantin Titov in the interview to the news agency "Federation News" said: "There aren't any laws violations in his idea [Governor Vasily Bochkarev], as the point about the banning of smoking will be brought in the labor contract. And if you signed the contract, you are obliged to carry it out".

Valery Shnjakin said: "The person, which doesn't smoke, doesn't harm the surrounding people, but the smoker creates the intolerable conditions for those who are nearby".

Oleg Panteleev said: "There isn't any discrimination in the decision of the Head of the region, it is absolutely lawful". He added that "the chief has the right to dictate the conditions to the subordinates".

But the first deputy of the Chairman of the Commission of the Federation Council of the Housing Policy and Communal Services, the representative of the executive office of the government of the Tula region in the Council of the Federation Anatoly Vaskov saw "the abuse of human rights" in the decision of the Penza Governor Vasily Bochkarev to dismiss smoking employees from the governmental personnel.

He said: "There is written down in the Constitution that everybody has the right to work. And the main law of the country doesn't contain any limitations concerning bad habits".

The Deputy Head of the fraction "United Russia" Lubov Sliska considered the decision of the Penza region Governor an "illegal" one.

The Vice-Speaker said: "Firstly it's strange to expel professionals for addiction to smoking and secondly — it is illegal". She added that she herself didn't bare tobacco smell.