Russian legislators are set to pass a tough advertising bill banning ads for tobacco and alcohol throughout the country, a liberal State Duma deputy said Monday.


Kirill Ignatyev, who heads the Duma's subcommittee on television, told an international conference on Russian advertising regulation that a majority of deputies supported the toughest of two versions of a draft advertising law -- one which categorically prohibits the advertisement of alcohol and tobacco products in Russia.


"I'd even say that it will inevitably be imposed," said Ignatyev, a member of the liberal Russia's Choice faction.


Ignatyev said deputies are likely to favor another article in the draft law that would ban the interruption of any television or radio program with commercials. This would allow ads to be placed only between programs.


The Russian cabinet recently discussed the draft law and gave its preliminary approval to the alcohol and tobacco ban, rejecting a second version of the draft that includes less stringent restrictions like those in many Western countries, such as a ban on alcohol and tobacco ads within a given distance of schools.


The draft is being submitted this week to the Duma's Council, which selects bills for consideration, after which it can be included in the legislature's agenda, according to Igor Pisarsky, vice president of the Russian Association of Advertising Agencies.


The association came out strongly against the ban earlier this year, releasing a study claiming that the ban would cost Russia almost $1 billion in investment and tax revenues over the next five years.


At the one-day conference at the Radisson-Slavjanskaya Hotel on Monday, international advertising officials sharply criticized the prohibitive bill, saying that market self-regulation would be more civilized and more effective than government-imposed controls.


"It is a simple principle of freedom of commercial speech: If a product is legal to manufacture and package, it is also legal to advertise," said Carla Michelotti, who is on the board of the International Advertising Association, which represents advertising agencies from 86 countries.


"It is sufficient for the government to produce the legal framework and allow advertisers to add detail," agreed Jacques Bille, chairman of the European Advertising Tripartite, which represents European advertising agencies.


Even Russian tobacco producers, who often attribute the success of their foreign competitors in Russia to aggressive ad campaigns, spoke against the ban Monday, saying that they are counting on advertising to regain market share.


"We're working to improve the quality of domestic brands and advertising will help us make consumers aware of the improvements," said Vladimir Tevertsov, general director of TabakProm, a consortium of Russian tobacco manufacturers.


Five major Western tobacco manufacturers -- R.J. Reynolds, Rothmans, Philip Morris, British-American Tobacco and Reetsma -- signed a voluntary ethics code in September, imposing restrictions on tobacco advertising.