[Intl-tobacco] KYRGYZSTAN: New anti-smoking coalition takes on growing cigarette habit

[Robert Weissman]

KYRGYZSTAN: New anti-smoking coalition takes on growing cigarette habit
 IRIN News
 July 20, 2004

 Unbridled tobacco advertising - promoting an affluent Western lifestyle
- is
 everywhere in Kyrgyz towns and cities

 Bishkek - Earlier this month, ten local Kyrgyz NGOs established a new
 coalition dedicated to combating smoking - one of the leading causes of
 premature deaths in the country. The coalition hopes to stimulate a national
 anti-smoking drive as cigarettes continue to grow in popularity,
 particularly among the young, despite the proven health risks associated
 with the habit.

 "Our main aim is to unite material, financial and human resources to stop
 tobacco proliferation. Today 60 percent of men and 40 percent of woman
 smoke. In addition, 20 percent of children aged 13-15 smoke," Chinara
 Bekbazarova, the chair of the coalition, told IRIN in the capital, Bishkek.
 Unlike in most Western nations, smoking is on the increase throughout much
 of Central Asia.

 The Kyrgyz Health Ministry estimates that in the past decade the number of
 men who smoke has doubled and the number of women regularly using cigarettes
 has more than tripled. This in a country where the average monthly wage is
 no more than US $50. Research on smoking trends in developing countries
 shows money for cigarettes tends to come from meagre household budgets -
 often at the expense of food.

 International tobacco companies are aware of this trend and have been
 diverting resources towards promoting tobacco in "emerging markets"
such as
 China, India and Central Asia. The summer streets of Bishkek are frequented
 by attractive young men and women smartly dressed in the colours of a
 particular brand. Their job is to recruit new, preferably young,
smokers, by
 offering a combination of free cigarettes and other merchandise as well as
 entry to free competitions.

 "Just collect 40 empty boxes of our brand and we'll give you a free packet
 of 20," the tobacco couples call out to shoppers, adding that "pens,
 calendars, key rings [bearing the company logo] are also available."

 In Kyrgyzstan, mortality from smoking-related lung disease is second
only to
 heart disease. "About 40 percent of these diseases are a direct result of
 smoking, so the consequences are obvious," Dmitry Shainazarov, a doctor at
 the Republican Clinic Hospital in Bishkek, told IRIN.

 New tactics to encourage smoking are being tried by the tobacco companies.
 One marketing gimmick is to put money inside some cigarette boxes. "I used
 to buy three or four cigarettes per day, but when Polet [brand] begun
to put
 money inside the box I started to buy a whole box each day in order to try
 and win a cash prize," Andrey, a student at Kyrgyz National University, told
 IRIN.

 "You can win 86,000 soms [US $ 2,050] each month in this competition. That's
 big money," one smoker told IRIN while handing over cash for five
packets at
 a cigarette-box shaped kiosk. Huge posters in the centre of Bishkek confirm
 this.

 Tobacco advertising on television and radio is completely unrestricted in
 Kyrgyzstan. The adverts promote an image of glamour and sophistication that
 many aspiring Kyrgyz are happy to buy into. "Kyrgyzstan is the only country
 in Central Asia where tobacco advertising in the mass media, TV or on the
 streets is not prohibited," said Bekbazarova.

 Children and teenagers are the most susceptible to tobacco advertising
 campaigns. Near the capital's most prestigious supermarket there's
always a
 huge group of young people admiring a sports car, parked on a stand at a
 racy angle, bearing the logo of West cigarettes - a popular local brand.

 "It is very interesting. Maybe I can win the car or other prizes," said
 13-year-old Ilzat. Although children cannot participate directly in such
 competitions, they put as much pressure on their parents as possible to
 enter on their behalf.

 "You see how strongly it [tobacco advertising] influences my child. He has
 been crazy gathering empty cigarette boxes and I suspect he is already
 smoking the cigarettes," Ilzat's mother remarked. This would not be a
 problem as no legislation exists preventing the sale of tobacco
products to
 children and young people.

 In common with many other developing nations, cigarettes packets on
sale in
 Kyrgyzstan do not carry health warnings. "So what? Why it is bad if a child
 buys cigarettes? Perhaps he or she does it for his father?" a street vendor
 shading herself beneath a Marlboro parasol, asked.

 The new anti-smoking alliance also wants to promote education campaigns that
 show the reality of tobacco's impact on health. "At the moment everyone is
 listening to the big cigarettes companies. Their resources are limitless.
 The government has to be more responsible and acknowledge the health risks
 and tell the public, otherwise in a generation our young people will mostly
 die young," Bekbazarova said.