'Smoke and drink to save the economy'

Russians should smoke and drink more to support their economy, the country's finance minister has decreed.

Drink up: The Russian people are told that those who drink and smoke are helping the economy the most

The call to fill up Kremlin coffers with excise duty from cigarettes and alcohol came from Alexei Kudrin, one of prime minister Vladimir Putin's top aides.

'If you smoke a pack of cigarettes, that means you are giving more to help solve social problems,' Mr Kudrin said.

'People should understand: Those who drink, those who smoke are doing more to help the state.'

His call stands on its head the usual official advice - even in Russia, which is renowned for its vodka and cigarette consumption and where life expectancy is almost 11 years less than the average in the European Union.

The average Russian already drinks 18 litres of alcohol a year - mainly vodka - and 65% of the population smoke. Alcohol kills 500,000 Russians a year.

Vodka is often blamed for male life expectancy of just 62.7 years in Russia, while women on average live to 74.6. UK equivalents are 77.2 and 81.6.

Mr Kudrin's call came as he hiked excise duty on cigarettes, although most brands still cost under £1 for 20.

'If he was serious, he should be thrown out of politics,' said Sergey Petrashev, of health campaign group Straight Edge.