VZCZCXRO1269
RR RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
DE RUEHMO #5630/01 3360808
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020808Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5620
INFO RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 2551
RUEHYG/AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG 2879
RUEHZN/EST COLLECTIVE
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA

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