© Getty Images (file photo)Russian smokers have been left gasping after the emergencies ministry announced that smoking on the balconies of apartment blocks would be banned under new fire regulations.There was initial confusion as to whether smoking was included in the ban, with one tobacco industry official insisting that the new rules were all about "alcoholics who grill shish kebabs on the balcony".But ministry officials later confirmed that smoking would be prohibited. Few will be willing to get dressed and take the lift downstairs just for a quick smoke.And this is the point made by many commentators online. "What's the use of a balcony if you can't smoke there?" asked one commentator on the popular website TJournal. "And this is the kind of job we pay the government billions of roubles for each year," said another.But Channel 5 TV was resigned: "Russians will just have to find somewhere else to smoke."