- The drinking age is 18 and rarely enforced. It is common to see preteens, and even younger children, drinking alcoholic drinks.
- The legal age for purchasing tobacco is 18.
Drinking alcohol, even beer, on streets or in public places is forbidden.
Smoking is forbidden in many public places (near entrances to public transport, shopping malls etc.)
- All Ukrainian trains are non-smoking which is very uncomfortable for smokers as the most trains are overnight. Ukrainian Police (Militsiya) patrols trains very often.
Penalties for smoking or drinking are high money fines. Persons noticed by the Militsiya while smoking or drinking alcohol at inappropriate places can be brought to the police office for “identification”, especially if a person has no documents. The identification can take no more than 3 hours.
- All light and hard drugs are forbidden. Even possession of little portions may cause an arrest.
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