MOSCOW, October 15 (RAPSI) – A bill authorizing Russia’s Drug Control Service to ban herbal smoking mixtures at its own discretion will be submitted soon for consideration, speaker of the upper house of parliament Valentina Matviyenko told journalists on Wednesday.

Herbal mixtures known as "spices" gained extreme popularity in Russia. These mixtures are marketed as safe, and manufacturers attempt to evade legal restrictions by substituting different chemicals in their mixtures.

More than 700 people who used spices were hospitalized in at least three Russian regions for the last few weeks. 25 young people died, head of the Federal Drug Control Service Viktor Ivanov said earlier.