82Any legislative initiative aimed at protecting public health from tobacco and nicotine inevitably encounters resistance from the tobacco industry, whose goal is to sell tobacco and nicotine products and maintain influence over policymaking processes in order to continue recruiting new consumers, primarily among children and young people.
The Guidelines for the implementation of Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control state: “The tobacco industry should not be a partner in any initiative linked to setting or implementing public health policies, given that its interests are in direct conflict with the goals of public health.”
One of the key legal tools used by the tobacco industry is the registration of alternative draft laws and the mass submission of amendments (so-called “regulatory spam”) aimed at delaying the consideration of tobacco control initiatives, weakening decisions, postponing entry into force, distorting legislation, and rendering it unenforceable.
We examine how this tactic is applied in Ukraine using two laws as examples: No. 1978-IX (strengthening non-price measures) and No. 4115-IX (excise tax policy).
Law of Ukraine No. 1978-IX “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Protecting Public Health from the Harmful Effects of Tobacco,” adopted in 2021 and significantly strengthening tobacco control legislation, faced five alternative initiatives aimed at blocking and weakening it. Prior to the second reading, 515 amendments were submitted, 425 of which were rejected (83%), while only 90 were adopted.
As for Law No. 4115-IX “On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and Other Laws of Ukraine on Revising Excise Tax Rates on Tobacco Products,” which was initially developed with interference from the tobacco industry, four alternative draft laws were submitted. Two of them, like the main draft, proposed a weak and prolonged timeline for reaching the EU minimum excise rate, as well as the introduction of a 25% tax preference for heated tobacco products compared to traditional cigarettes. Thus, the submission of these initiatives did not create genuine competition of approaches but rather formed the illusion of broad support for a so-called “compromise” solution.
A total of 442 amendments were submitted to draft law No. 11090, 412 of which were rejected (93%), indicating not constructive improvement of the bill, but systematic amendment pressure aimed at complicating and diluting the legislative process.
More on the systematic interference of the tobacco industry in the legislative process and its consequences can be found in a publication on the updated Tobacco Tactics platform.
Tobacco Tactics is a project of the Advocacy Center ‘Life’, an information and thematic resource dedicated to the strategies and tactics used by the tobacco industry to influence public health policymaking in Ukraine, particularly in the field of tobacco control.