RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES TOBACCO CONTROL CONVENTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 001135 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS USAID FOR GH, E&E HHS FOR OGHA USDA FAS FOR OGA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO SCUL PREL SOCI RS SUBJECT: RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES TOBACCO CONTROL CONVENTION REFS: A. 07 Moscow 5630 ¶B. 07 Moscow 5522 ¶C. 08 Moscow 854 ¶D. 07 Moscow 1834 ¶E. 07 Moscow 1434 MOSCOW 00001135 001.2 OF 002 THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: In a significant step forward for anti-smoking regulation, on April 11, the Russian Duma overwhelmingly voted to ratify the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Observers expect the FCTC will be quickly approved by the Federation Council and signed by the President. Over the next three to five years, the Duma will have to consider several additional pieces of tobacco control legislation to come into compliance with the FCTC, including measures to enlarge cigarette package warnings, increase cigarette prices and excise taxes, and limit tobacco advertising and smoking in public places. Tobacco companies are expected to lobby heavily against these new legislative measures and argue that the convention's tobacco control provisions are intended to be advisory rather than mandatory. Nonetheless, the convention's passage raises the hope that in a few years time, the large cohorts of Russian smokers will begin declining, helping to reverse the country's demographics crisis. END SUMMARY. -------------- Russia Coming Into Compliance With FCTC -------------- ¶2. (U) On April 11, the Duma ratified the FCTC by a vote of 447 to ¶1. The Cabinet had approved it in January and sent it to the Duma as a draft law in February. (While Russia actively participated in the original development and negotiations of the FCTC in 2003 at the WHO, it had never signed or ratified the document.) Once approved by the Federation Council and signed by the President, the FCTC will enter into force for Russia 90 days after the ratification documents are submitted to the WHO. ¶3. (U) By its terms, the FCTC contemplates several changes to domestic tobacco control legislation over a three to five year period after ratification. These measures include: -- increasing the size of the warning label on cigarette packs to a minimum of 30 percent of the surface area within three years; -- introducing a complete ban on tobacco advertisement within five ;years; -- limiting smoking in public places and facilities; -- banning cigarette sales in kiosks; -- increasing cigarette excise taxes; -- decreasing tar and nicotine levels in cigarettes; -- creating non-smoking areas in bars and restaurants; -- increasing public health communication on the health risks of smoking and the provision of treatment to nicotine addicts. -- banning the use of terms such as "light" or "super- light" to describe cigarettes; and -- prohibiting tobacco companies from sponsoring various public events. ¶4. (U) Even prior to ratifying the FCTC, the Duma began making some of the necessary changes to Russian law, which already prohibits tobacco advertisements on radio, TV and on outdoor signs and billboards. In early April, the Duma approved the first reading of a draft law to prohibit tobacco advertisements on all forms of transportation, including in the Metro, at train and bus stations, and in airports. The Duma held an initial hearing on April 21 to discuss legislative changes needed to implement the FCTC, and the Duma Health Committee has established a 30-member expert council to work on preparing draft implementing legislation. Anti-tobacco advocates from the All-Russia Cancer Center have also established a new NGO called "Healthy Society," which is chaired by Duma Deputy Nikolay Gerasimenko, to assist in the FCTC's implementation. MOSCOW 00001135 002.2 OF 002 Gerasimenko is deputy head of the Duma Health Care Committee and a long-time anti-smoking crusader within the Duma. He will receive an award for his achievements in fighting smoking at the Eastern European Anti-Tobacco Forum in Warsaw April 22. -------------- Important Step on Road to Tobacco Control -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Health and demographic experts applaud the Duma's ratification of the FCTC, but worry that the tobacco industry will raise obstacles and delay the convention's implementation. Kirill Danishevskiy, a senior health consultant with the Open Health Institute and head of the Russian Society of Evidence-Based Medicine, expects that some lobbyists and lawmakers will argue that the FCTC is a non-binding international agreement whose provisions are only meant to be advisory, rather than mandatory. Andrey Demin, a prominent public health advocate and head of the Russian Association of Public Health, agrees that some health officials and policy makers will view the FCTC as an "elastic" document. He also expects the big tobacco companies will lobby heavily to slow down the legislative process. ¶6. (U) International tobacco industry representatives have publicly stated that they are ready to observe the FCTC, but they hope that lawmakers will consider the "specifics of market regulation" in Russia as they adopt legislation to implement the FCTC. Philip Morris issued a statement welcoming FCTC ratification as "an important step" in regulating the tobacco industry, but emphasized the "framework" nature of the convention, which allows member states to be guided by national "constitutional principles," a likely indication that the company will lobby for watered-down restrictions on advertising. British American Tobacco's Russia representative pointed out that tobacco is a legal product, and Germany and Japan have not banned outdoor advertisement, despite being members of the FCTC. (Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, and Japan International Tobacco, which distributes RJ Reynolds' brands internationally, collectively control over 80 percent of the Russian cigarette market.) Some observers have also noted that the hospitality sector will join with the tobacco lobby to oppose smoking bans or the establishment of smoke-free zones in hotels, bars and restaurants, arguing that these businesses would see a loss of income. ¶7. (U) Some 65 percent of Russian men and 30 percent of women smoke, according to estimates from the Federal Surveillance Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being (Rospotrebnadzor). Rospotrebnadzor also estimates that at least 25 percent of 15-19 year olds smoke (Ref A),though a recent survey conducted in Moscow revealed that 70 percent of Russian teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 consider themselves to be smokers. According to various estimates from health and demographic experts, 330,000 to 500,000 deaths every year are attributable to the direct or indirect consequences of smoking, making it one of the two main drivers of Russia's high mortality, along with heavy drinking of vodka and other spirits (Refs B-E). -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Duma ratification of the FCTC is a major step forward in the years-long effort to implement meaningful anti-smoking regulation in Russia. As further legislation is introduced to implement the FCTC in the next three to five years, we believe high-level political will to improve mortality figures and reverse the demographics crisis (Refs C, D) will ultimately overcome intense lobbying from cigarette companies. Once appropriate implementing legislation is enacted, and if it is effectively enforced, future generations of Russians can look forward to smoking less and breathing less second-hand smoke. BURNS