The tobacco lobby has extended its tentacles into Ukrainian politics. Corruption schemes, pressure on MPs, bribery – all of this is used to undermine anti-tobacco policy in the country. Investigations by journalists have revealed shocking facts of cooperation between politicians and tobacco companies.
Since the introduction of the ban on smoking in public places in 2012, Ukraine has been steadily strengthening its tobacco control efforts. According to the Association Agreement with the EU, our legislation must comply with European standards in the field of tobacco regulation. However, not all politicians share the desire for a healthy nation.
A striking example is the attempt to reduce the excise tax on so-called heating tobacco products. Such an initiative contradicts all logical explanations and would cause significant damage to the state budget. According to investigative journalist Yevhen Plinsky, this attempt is in the interests of tobacco corporations, including Philip Morris.
Plinsky notes that there is a close connection between individual politicians and the tobacco lobby and points to an extensive network of tobacco lobbying in the Ukrainian government. For example, he cites the story of the leader of the Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamia, who lobbied for a reduction in excise duty on IQOS sticks and later vacationed in the Maldives with a representative of the tobacco company, Borys Kaufman.
“David Arakhamia, the leader of the Servant of the People faction, submits this amendment, and then it turns out that he “accidentally” finds himself with Boris Kaufman in the Maldives on March 8. He flew to celebrate his child’s birthday for two days and Borys Kaufman happened to be there.
This once again shows how extensive the network of tobacco lobbying in the Ukrainian government is, to introduce such things that retroactively reduce taxes….,” Plinsky notes.
Dmytro Kupyra, Executive Director of the NGO “Life,” also raised the issue of tobacco companies funding politicians and organizations. He noted that in Ukraine, there is a ban on tobacco companies funding charitable and political campaigns, which is not the case in other countries, such as Germany, where tobacco companies can make political contributions. Kupyra believes that this ban in Ukraine may be part of the problem, as tobacco corporations often have influence with politicians from both camps to secure their interests.
“For example, in Germany, they are not prohibited from funding parties, and tobacco companies, including Philip Morris, give €14999 to each party, every year or season, for the election campaign. There, this part of the information is public. Imagine how much money it can be in Ukraine, and I will say that they are not really principled tobacco companies. They work with representatives of both the government and the opposition. They just need influential representatives,” Kupira said. This situation emphasizes the need for careful monitoring and control over legislative initiatives related to tobacco products, as well as transparency in relations between the government and big business.