MOSCOW — Russia’s government has OKed a bill that would ban smoking in public and tobacco ads.

The government on Thursday approved a landmark deal that would crack down on smoking in a country where 44 million people, or 40 percent of adults, light up.

The approval of the bill, which has yet to be discussed in parliament and signed by the president, follows a plea by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who on Tuesday called for a crackdown on tobacco companies “making money on children.”

Smoking rates have shot up in the past two decades, fueled by extremely low prices for cigarettes and largely uncontrolled advertising.

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