Lobbyists of tobacco companies


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Експерти центру громадянського представництва «Життя» проаналізували зв'язки державних службовців з тютюновими компаніями.

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The World Health Organization clearly identifies that tobacco products are harmful to human health. The WHO notes that up to 50% of tobacco users die from diseases caused by smoking.

Realizing the catastrophic consequences of tobacco use for human health and the economy, 181 countries, including Ukraine, have acceded to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Ukraine ratified the WHO FCTC by the Law of Ukraine №3534-15 of 15.03.2006 and implemented it in the current legislation (Law №2899), which directly indicates the priority of health policy over the financial, tax and corporate interests of individuals related to the tobacco industry.

Article 5.3 of the FCTC requires States to protect public health policies from the influence of the commercial and other corporate interests of the tobacco industry. The Guidelines for implementation of Article 5.3 emphasize: There is a fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the tobacco industry’s interests and public health policy interests. The tobacco industry produces and promotes a product that has been proven scientifically to be addictive, to cause disease and death and to give rise to a variety of social ills, including increased poverty. Therefore, Parties should protect the formulation and implementation of public health policies for tobacco control from the tobacco industry to the greatest extent possible”.

In order to make a profit by selling tobacco products, the tobacco industry continues to try to interfere in health policy, contrary to Ukraine’s international obligations and current legislation. To do this, the tobacco industry uses every opportunity, including dishonest MPs, civil servants, non-governmental organizations.

The purpose of the interactive infographic ”Lobbyists of tobacco companies” is to demonstrate to the public the facts of activity and use of the status of MPs, civil servants, public associations in the interests of the tobacco industry against the public interest.

The key forms of such intervention are:

The base period of the infographic materials reflects the period from June 2019 to November 2020, but for a better understanding of the intervention of the tobacco industry, we reflected the previous actions of the participants, who have been working in the interests of the tobacco industry for a long time.

Methodology. The interactive infographic reflects the actions of the participants in the interests of the tobacco industry, which are contrary to the WHO FCTC, in particular the Guidelines for the implementation of Article 5.3 and current legislation. The public speeches of the defendants, comments for the media, initiated and supported legal acts, draft laws, decisions, letters, appeals, assistants, the conflict of interests of family members, ownership structure, voting were analyzed.

The interactive infographics of “Lobbyists of tobacco companies” were prepared by the teams of the NGO “Life” and the NGO “Anti-Corruption Headquarters”, which declare the lack of ties with the tobacco industry or persons connected with it.