19:29 22.11.2017

Transparency International Ukraine calls for strengthening control over violations of anti-tobacco legislation

2 min read

KYIV. Nov 22 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Transparency International (TI) Ukraine has called for strengthening control over violations of anti-tobacco legislation in order to stop tobacco corporations from interfering in the state healthcare policy.

"To stop interference of tobacco corporations with state healthcare policy in Ukraine, it is necessary to strengthen control over violations of anti-tobacco legislation, to counteract the conflict of interest in this area, to interact with tobacco corporations with utmost openness if it is unavoidable, and to inform the public and media on instances of 'lobbying' of tobacco industry's interests," Transparency International Ukraine said in a press release.

To stop the influence of tobacco corporations, Transparency International Ukraine suggest restricting the interaction between public authorities and tobacco industry in legislation.

"If such interaction is necessary, it has to be absolutely transparent. For instance, every public official who is authorized to make decisions on regulation or taxation of tobacco products has to declare in writing real and potential conflicts of interest or absence thereof," the organization said.

According to TI Ukraine's invited expert on monitoring of the conflict of interest in the tobacco industry Serhiy Mytkalyk, 'lobbying' the interests of tobacco industry is a systemic phenomenon and takes place in several areas.

"We found that the consideration of forward-looking bills that comply with EU directives Nos. 2820 and 4030a is deliberately protracted by lawmakers. To date, bills, which passed through the [relevant] committees have not been put to a vote for more than six months," he said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.

According to the expert, another area of 'lobbying' the interests of the tobacco industry is the sabotage of control over violation of the anti-tobacco legislation.

"The State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, in accordance with the law, imposes fines and financial sanctions on business entities, that is, owners of restaurants and bars for violation of the smoking ban. But the law does not define the possibility of the service to carry out inspections. The very word 'control measure', that is, verification, is absent from the law," Mitkalik said.

Transparency International Ukraine, the Ukrainian Institute for Strategic Studies of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine, NGO Zhyttia (Life) and the Ukrainian Tobacco Control Center have called on the authorities to take into account these recommendations to counteract the tobacco corporations influence.

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