RUSSIA STILL A SMOKER'S PARADISE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 005630 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS USAID FOR GH, E&E HHS FOR OGHA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO SCUL PREL SOCI RS SUBJECT: RUSSIA STILL A SMOKER'S PARADISE REFS: A. Moscow 5522 ¶B. Moscow 1834 ¶C. Moscow 1434 MOSCOW 00005630 001.2 OF 002 THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Russian Duma session that ended November 16 failed to approve legislation placing greater restrictions on smoking in public places. The outgoing Duma also did not approve the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which Russia has neither signed nor ratified. Observers contend that some lawmakers' hopes to make Russia a little less of a smoker's paradise were snuffed out by Russia's powerful tobacco lobby. END SUMMARY. -------------- GOOD INTENTIONS... -------------- ¶2. (U) In the Spring of 2007, the Duma approved in the first reading significant amendments to the law "On the Restriction of Tobacco Smoking." The draft legislation banned smoking in airports and train stations, and in airplanes, trains and boats. (NOTE: All Russian air carriers ban smoking, so the draft law simply codified existing practice on board aircraft.) The legislation also mandated the establishment of no-smoking zones in restaurants, bars and cafes. These smoke free zones were supposed to occupy at least half of the restaurant's public space, while the smoking section would have to be equipped with special air cleaning systems. Violators could be punished by fines of 80,000 to 100,000 rubles (up to $4,000). The Duma also approved in the first reading a separate amendment to the smoking law which reduced the amount of tar and nicotine in Russian cigarettes to EU levels and required warning labels on cigarette packs to be increased to 30 percent of the pack's surface area (from the four percent of surface area that warnings now occupy). ¶3. (U) On May 28-29, the eve of World No Tobacco Day, the Duma organized a two-day forum on "Health or Tobacco" in partnership with Moscow's Blokhin Cancer Research Center, the U.S. National Cancer Institute, the American-Russian Cancer Alliance, and a number of health NGOs. The forum featured leading Russian politicians railing against the ill health effects of smoking, including Duma Speaker Gryzlov, Moscow Mayor Luzhkov, and famous Russian crooner turned Duma Deputy Iosef Kobzon. Keynote speakers included the Ambassador and a video address from Congressman Steny Hoyer, a strong supporter of joint U.S.-Russian research on tobacco-related cancers. Duma Speaker Gryzlov referred to a letter from President Putin calling for laws to curb smoking and the ratification of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Likewise, Dr. Nikolay Gerasimenko (United Russia Party),Deputy Head of the Duma Health Committee and a leading Russian anti-smoking campaigner, pledged that the Duma would ratify the FCTC by September 2007. -------------- ...GO UP IN SMOKE -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The high-level interest in the "Health or Tobacco" Forum led some observers to believe the Duma would see through anti-smoking legislation this year. They expected, however, that the legislation would be watered down under pressure both from Russia's powerful tobacco lobby, and from the hospitality sector, which balked at the expense of establishing smoke free zones and special air systems for smoking sections. Both amendments to the tobacco law were supposed to go through a second and third reading during the fall Duma session. The second reading of the legislation never took place, and the Duma also didn't fulfill Health Committee Deputy Gerasimenko's pledge to approve the FCTC, which never came before the Duma for a vote. -------------- WHAT HAPPENED? -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Dr. Somasundram Subramanian from the Blokhin Cancer Research Center, an institute which has actively supported anti-smoking legislation in the Duma, told us the Duma was busy during the fall session and didn't see through tobacco control legislation. Dr. Kirill Danishevskiy, a consultant with the Open Health Institute, was less charitable. He told us that some United Russia Duma Deputies have business ties to the tobacco industry and opposed further restrictions on smoking. Danishevskiy helped form a Russian National Coalition for the Ratification of the FCTC. The coalition published an open letter to Putin in the Izvestiya MOSCOW 00005630 002.2 OF 002 newspaper on November 15 (The Great American "Smokeout" Day). The letter argued for the passage of the FCTC and noted that smoking was one of the main causes of low life expectancy in Russia. The coalition also complained about the Duma's failure to pass anti-smoking legislation and noted the links of some Duma Deputies to tobacco businesses. The open letter was signed by several leading health NGOs, including the Open Health Institute, the League for the Protection of Patients, the Society of Evidence-Based Medical Specialists, the Russian Association for Public Health, and the Russian charitable foundation "No Alcoholism, No Drug Addition." -------------- STILL SMOKIN' -------------- ¶6. (U) Russia is the world's largest importer of tobacco, representing an attractive growth market for international tobacco companies. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, multinational tobacco firms have also heavily invested in domestic production in Russia and now have a hold on the Russian market. Japan Tobacco International has a 35 percent market share based on the number of cigarettes sold (Mild Seven brand and the Camel, Winston and Salem brands as the owner of RJ Reynolds' international operations). Philip Morris (Marlboro) controls 27 percent of the market. British American Tobacco (Kent, Vogue, Pall Mall and Dunhill) controls 22 percent of the market. ¶7. (U) The cheapest cigarettes cost only 8-10 rubles (32-40 cents) per pack, less than the price of a loaf of bread or a ride on public transport. Prices for well-known international brands, such as Marlboro, start at 16-20 rubles (64-80 cents) per pack in Moscow. Price growth for tobacco products in recent years has been around 5.8 percent per year, well below the inflation rate, according to an analytical report prepared for the Duma's "Health or Tobacco" Forum in May. The excise or "sin" tax for cigarettes is rising but still remains very low in Russia. ¶8. (U) Few businesses provide a smoke-free workplace for their employees, and not many restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels have set aside public spaces for non-smoking visitors. Although Russian law prohibits tobacco sales to those under 18, there is almost no enforcement, and cigarettes are easily accessible to minors. ¶9. (U) Some 65 percent of Russian men and 30 percent of women smoke, according to estimates recently released by the Federal Surveillance Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being (Rospotrebnadzor). Rospotrebnadzor also believes that more than three million 15-19 year olds smoke (25 percent of this age group). -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The Duma appears to have bowed to pressure from the tobacco lobby and snuffed out promising tobacco legislation, even in the face of a demographic crisis where smoking and drinking are the two main factors driving Russia's high mortality (Refs B, C). The National Demographic Concept signed by Putin on October 9 does not mention developing a tobacco control policy (Ref A). As with proposals to reduce hard alcohol consumption (Refs A, B, C), lawmakers still believe that significant restrictions on smoking would be unpopular and politically unworkable in Russia. BURNS