[Intl-tobacco] Ukraine: 2 stories on tobacco ad ban (Nov 22)

[Robert Weissman]

Proposed ad ban has some smoking
 By Vitaly Sych, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Kyiv Post
November 22, 2001


 A bill that would totally ban all alcohol and tobacco advertising is
awaiting approval from President Leonid Kuchma after passing parliament
Nov. 15.

 If signed, the controversial legislation would extend the current ban
on alcohol and tobacco advertising to billboards and print media. Such
ads are already prohibited from appearing on radio and television.

 While proponents say the bill would cut down on smoking, opponents say
the law will ravage the advertising industry.

 It was unclear whether Kuchma will sign the bill, which passed by 311
votes in the 450-seat parliament.

 Oleksandr Noshchenko, director of Luvers, a company that owns a network
of outdoor advertising billboards in Kyiv, said tobacco and hard alcohol
advertisements account for about 20 percent of his company's business.

 "What can I say when they take away a great chunk of your business?" he
said.

 Noshchenko said he hoped the segment vacated by tobacco and alcohol
manufacturers would be filled by other industries, such as automobile
and construction companies, but he feared his company would be hurt by
an overall market downturn.

 Rates for outdoor advertising may decrease significantly as tobacco and
liquor companies ? the industry's wealthiest clients ? stop advertising,
he said.

 Serhy Smolyar, director of Ukrainian Media Monitor (UMM), an agency
that follows outdoor advertising in 30 Ukrainian cities, said cigarettes
were the most advertised product on billboards in the first 10 months of
this year. According to UMM's data, cigarettes and alcohol combined
accounted for 42 percent of all outdoor advertisements. The billboard
market reached $20 million in the first 10 months of this year.

 "By the most conservative estimates, the [outdoor advertising] market
will be thrown back to 1998, when the market size was hovering around
$11 million to $12 million a year," Smolyar said.

 Smolyar said he believed lawmakers passed the law in an attempt to
garner popular support on the eve of parliamentary elections.

 "This is a desire to show that [deputies] care about the nation's
health," he said.

 Konstyantyn Krasovky, leader of an anti-smoking coalition comprising 48
civil movements and organizations, said timing wasn't important.

 Krasovsky, whose coalition's members passed out anti-smoking leaflets
in front of the Verkhovna Rada on the day of the vote, said he sees a
complete ban on tobacco and smoking advertising as a major victory.

 Ukraine became the third country in the former Soviet Union after
Latvia and Lithuania to adopt the ban, he said.

 The measure will reduce tobacco use and eventually lead to a decrease
in smoking deaths, he said.

 "Smoking is the largest preventable cause of illness and death," he
said. "At the same time, advertising is one of the largest factors
facilitating an increase in smoking."

 Krasovsky, who is director of the Alcohol and Drug Information Center,
said calculations done by his group using World Health Organization
methodology, show 110,000 people die annually in Ukraine of
smoking-related diseases.

 Partial bans on tobacco and alcohol advertising have proved ineffective
worldwide, while countries introducing complete bans on tobacco
advertising have seen the percentage of smokers shrink by up to
one-third over a 10- to 20-year period, Krasovsky said. In Ukraine, even
a minor drop in smoker rates could save thousands of lives, he said.

 That argument is disputed by some tobacco companies.

 Serhy Makarenko, a spokesman for British American Tobacco, which
controls about 20 percent of the nation's tobacco production, said
international experience shows no relationship between advertising bans
and cigarette use. Makarenko, who called parliament's decision
"emotional," said the move would severely hit local cigarette
manufacturers who struggle to establish their brands against
well-promoted Western products.

 The ban, however, is unlikely to significantly affect tobacco
companies' ability to deliver information about their products to
potential consumers, Makarenko said. Tobacco companies will have to
reconsider their marketing, switching to the so-called below-the-line
advertising, which involves sponsorship, direct mail advertising and
street promotion.

 "You can adapt to any rules of the game," Makarenko said. "You just
need time."



Butt out of advertising!
Kyiv Post (editorial)
November 22, 2001


 Parliament has passed a bill that, on the surface, purports to reduce
the number of deaths related to smoking and drinking. If signed by
President Leonid Kuchma, the law would extend a ban on tobacco and
alcohol advertisements to billboards and print media. Such ads have
already been barred from television and radio broadcasts.

 Proponents say such a blackout would save the lives of people who might
be tempted to imbibe these harmful products after seeing ads in their
newspapers or on billboards. The legislation is specifically geared
toward preventing children from becoming the smokers and drinkers of the
future.

 But in reality this law is not about the nation’s health. It is not
about saving lives or protecting children, which it will not do. This
law is all about limiting choices, violating free press rights and
harming Ukraine’s vital advertising industry.

 Let’s not forget that cigarettes are a legal commodity, as are vodka,
gin, whiskey and all other spirits that fall under this ban. By barring
companies that produce alcohol and tobacco products from rightfully
advertising their goods, parliament is putting a gag order on legitimate
businesses. It is also dealing a hefty blow to the advertising industry
that, by some estimates, stands to lose at least 40 percent of its
revenues if the ban goes into effect.

 The bill would also forbid the free distribution of cigarettes as
samples, impeding the rights of companies to legitimately promote the
legal products that they make. No other consumer product falls under
such ridiculous restrictions. Not toasters. Not tennis shoes. Not
toothpaste.

 This is precisely why the All-Ukrainian Advetising Coalition is urging
Kuchma not to sign this bill into law.

 There is no denying that abuse of alcohol and cigarettes constitutes a
serious health problem to people. And we do not believe that children
should smoke or drink ? ever. But banning advertising ? squelching
information about legal products ? is not the answer because silencing
the tobacco and alcohol industries won’t save lives.

 In other countries of Europe and North America, studies have shown that
limiting or prohibiting advertising does not decrease consumption.
Advertising merely helps smokers and drinkers to choose a brand.

 We support the rights of adults to choose for themselves whether to
smoke and drink.

 As for children, there are more effective strategies for steering them
away from bad habits. If you don’t want your children to become smokers
and drinkers, lobby school officials to implement education programs in
the classroom. Better yet, talk to you kids about the dangers of smoking
and drinking ? not after they come home reeking of smoke and booze, but
before. Talk to them honestly and frequently, and give them the tools
they need to resist the peer pressure that leads to abuse of dangerous
substances.

 Prime Minister Anatoly Kinakh said this week he will urge the president
not to sign this bill. We commend the Kinakh government for putting
rational thought above rhetoric.