895On February 6, 2025, the NGO “Life” held a press conference at the Ukrinform news agency on the recommendations of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine to Philip Morris Sales and Distribution LLC regarding the dissemination of misleading information. The participants of the press conference discussed why this decision of the AMCU is extremely important for protecting the health of young people.
Following a complaint about the dissemination of false information about IQOS properties filed by Dexis Partners on behalf of the renowned restaurateur Vardkes Arzumanyan, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine opened a case against Philip Morris Sales and Distribution LLC.
The applicant’s lawyer Oksana Dankevych said: “Our client, Mr. Vardkes, like many other consumers, believed in the safety of IQOS products compared to conventional cigarettes. This belief was driven by advertising messages disseminated by the Philip Morris brand. We checked the expert opinions posted on the manufacturer’s website at the time, analyzed about four dozen scientific studies, and sent a dozen lawyer requests. In the end, we realized that the company’s claims about reducing health risks were unfounded. It is important for us that the AMCU confirmed that the claims are inaccurate and misleading. And even more importantly, the AMCU has ordered the company to stop the violation”.
Thus, AMCU identified the following statements and their variations with explanations/warnings as misleading:
- “IQOS emits on average 95 percent lower levels of harmful chemicals compared with cigarettes”;
- “Switching to IQOS poses less risk to your health than continuing to smoke”.
The AMCU ordered Philip Morris Sales and Distribution LLC to stop disseminating inaccurate information about IQOS devices and heated tobacco products, and obliged it to inform consumers in a way that is not misleading.
“The Antimonopoly Committee’s investigation is extremely important for protecting the public from misleading information about the emerging tobacco products that have appeared on the market. We emphasize once again that there is no such thing as safe smoking. Any form of tobacco and nicotine consumption is harmful and is a risk factor for numerous diseases that lead to premature death. Ukraine has a consistent position in strengthening measures aimed at protecting the health of citizens, especially children and youth, from the harm of tobacco”, said Ihor Kuzin, Deputy Minister of Health.
The World Health Organization, which also provided its data at the request of the AMCU, reported that there is no sufficient evidence that heated tobacco products can be considered less harmful.
The WHO insists that any form of tobacco use causes devastating harm to human health, including heated tobacco products, due to their toxicity and the presence of carcinogens even in their natural form. In addition, independent studies show that the content of more than 20 harmful and potentially harmful chemicals in heated tobacco products is significantly higher than in cigarette smoke. The WHO strongly recommends that all manufacturers and associated groups be prohibited from making claims about the lower harms of heated tobacco products compared to other tobacco products, and that HTPs should be regulated on a par with other tobacco products in accordance with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, including excise taxation at the level of cigarettes.
Along with the misleading claims of less harm promoted by the tobacco industry, HTPs have preferential conditions compared to regular cigarettes:
- flavor additives;
- lack of graphic health warnings on packs;
- preference for branded advertising;
- a 25% excise tax preference for HTPs, as provided for in Draft Law No. 11090.
“Since 2017, the consumption of HTPs among consumers of tobacco and nicotine products has increased from 0% to 23%, while the use of traditional cigarettes is slowly declining but still remains the highest among all types of tobacco products. At the same time, the popularity of HTPs and e-cigarettes is highest among young people aged 18-29. This clearly indicates the need to regulate newer tobacco and nicotine products on a par with traditional cigarettes, including taxation. After all, our goal is to create conditions so that children and young people do not start using harmful tobacco and nicotine products, which lead to the formation of a persistent addiction”, said Oleksandr Yurchenko, Deputy Director General of the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
The use of HTPs among young people aged 18-29 who use tobacco and nicotine products increased by 22% in just one year, from 37% in 2023 to 45% in 2024. To protect the health of children and young people from being attracted to tobacco and nicotine use, the Verkhovna Rada registered Draft Law No. 12091, which, in particular, provides for a ban on flavored HTPs and the introduction of combined health warnings on HTP packs, which is Ukraine’s European integration commitment under Directive 2014/40/EU.
“Consumption of any tobacco and nicotine products leads to irreversible health consequences. Twenty-five percent of deaths from cancer are caused by tobacco use. In 2023, more than 6,000 Ukrainians died of tracheal, bronchial, and lung cancer alone. And 9 out of 10 deaths from lung cancer are caused by tobacco use. I believe that the state should create an environment in which the tobacco industry will not be able to advertise its poisonous products at all, because this leads to thousands of deaths”, summarized Anton Shkiryak, oncologist, and ambassador of the Parents for Tobacco and Nicotine Free Ukraine initiative.
The event was also attended by representatives of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, the All-Ukrainian Consumer Federation “Pulse” and the public.
For contact information:
Olha Masna, media coordinator at NGO “Life”
073 089 65 70
olha.masna@center-life.org