While Ukrainians are still among the heaviest smokers in the world, public health advocates say that more smokers have quit in recent years -- thanks to higher taxes, restrictions on advertising and indoor smoking bans.
Passersby look at 300 pairs of shoes set out in front of the Cabinet during an anti-smoking campaign called “300 Ukrainians are killed by smoking daily” in April. (UNIAN)
But in order to reduce the smoking rate further and save even more lives, national lawmakers and anti-tobacco activists are trying to pass legislation this summer that would completely ban tobacco advertising and promotion.
The legislation has support from lawmakers in all major factions — Party of Regions, Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko and Our Ukraine.
Hanna Hopko, a Kyiv-based advocate who works with the Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids in Washington, D.C., said that that public health activists “expect MPs will support a draft law that completely bans the advertising of tobacco goods, sponsorship and the promotion of sales.” But the problem, Hopko said, is that parliament has not made action on the bill a high priority.
Hanna also called partial advertising bans ineffective. Currently, a partial ban restricts the promotion of tobacco-related products on national TV, radio, print media and outdoor advertisements. It does not ban advertisement on international TV and radio, international newspapers and magazines, point of sale advertisements and Internet advertisements.
Also, it does not regulate promotion through flyers or such items as promotional gifts. Thus, even though some advertising outlets for tobacco companies have been curtailed, the industry can still reach its target audience.
A complete ban, like ones in place in many other nations such as Turkey and India, could significantly curb the smoking rate by cutting this promotional link between the tobacco industry and its customers. Research done by Henry Saffer on tobacco bans in 22 countries found that a comprehensive ban can lead to reduction of tobacco consumption by 6.3 percent.
Such a decline would build on Ukraine’s recent momentum in curbing the number of smokers in a nation where 100,000 people die prematurely from tobacco-related illnesses and diseases. In 2009, regular smokers made up 26 percent of the population, down from 37 percent in 2005.
Public health advocates in Ukraine say the best way to reduce smoking is for nations to:
- raise taxes on cigarettes, adopt and completely enforce bans on indoor smoking in public places;
- ban advertising; require large pictorial warnings on cigarette packs;
- and promote public education policies.
A Canadian study suggested that “reading and thinking about warning labels was positively associated with intentions to quit smoking.”
In Ukraine, unfortunately, anti-tobacco activists are also fighting aggressive attempts by the tobacco industry to court women smokers with feminine-sounding brands and pretty packaging. Moreover, in 2005, Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that “smoking starts early in Ukraine.” Nearly 1 in 4 youth between the ages of 13 and 15 smokes cigarettes. Teenagers have cheap and easy access to cigarettes on Ukraine’s streets, which could start them on the road of life-long addiction with its risk of a premature end.
Life expectancy of men in Ukraine is about 12 years shorter than those of men in Western Europe. This grim statistic shows the heavy toll that tobacco has taken on this country, giving impetus to the campaign to minimize use of tobacco products to safeguard the health of Ukrainians in current and future generations. Polls show that most smokers want to quit and if they do, they will likely breathe a lot easier for a lot longer.
Kyiv Post staff writer Hasan Siddiqui can be reached at [email protected].
