Like any social phenomenon, smoking has its own dynamics and patterns of development. Not only in the media, but also in everyday life, it is surrounded by a halo of ‘romance’ and ‘coolness’ – despite the well-known fact of physical and mental dependence, as well as a number of serious diseases that eventually lead to death.

A member of the American Psychological Association, Ani Leonila Ioseliani, says smoking for a long time has been part of the social experience and a means of adaptation to social circles.

‘Culture also plays a huge role in how we perceive cigarettes. For example, in the US, smoking has decreased dramatically over the past 20 years. Partly due to strict legislation, partly due to the negative attitude of the society as a whole. But in Austria, a very progressive and health-oriented country, smoking is very common and is considered a normal phenomenon. And if it is culturally acceptable, there will really be more smokers in the country’, explained the psychologist.

It is obvious that it is precisely the clear regulation of smoking by legislation that gives a real result, tangible in the long term. This is not about violating the rights of people who knowingly or unknowingly chose to risk their health in exchange for this addiction, but about how to prevent the use of nicotine-containing substances among a wider audience.

In addition, it is worth noting that smoking is a really expensive pleasure. Every year, the state invests in large-scale medical guarantee programs to fight cancer, including lung, throat and asthma diseases. For 2022, more than 8.3 billion hryvnias were planned for the treatment of oncological diseases, which is 4.8 billion more than the previous year. Thus, the tariff for chemotherapy treatment will increase to UAH 36,000; the amount for radiological treatment will be UAH 51,000, while in 2021 it was UAH 36,500.

84% of premature deaths in Ukraine are caused by non-infectious diseases.

The key risk factors for these diseases are tobacco, unhealthy food, alcohol, and a sedentary lifestyle.And this decision, in turn, affects everyone around: relatives, friends and just ordinary people who are forced to become passive smokers.

Thus, smoking also creates indirect damage to the economy, as a sick person or their relatives reduce their economic activity.

Reducing the amount of smoking also reduces the burden on the country’s medical system. This will allow effective redistributing of funds to other important areas.

Tobacco use is already causing annual economic losses to Ukraine at the level of 3.2% of GDP, or about UAH 179 billion (as of 2021). According to the WHO, tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke are the cause of premature death of 130,000 people in Ukraine every year.

 

Anna, 27 years old: ‘My grandfather, after 50 years of smoking, died of lung cancer, which his oncologist called ‘smoker’s cancer’. I saw his unbearable torment. But I still smoke. Isn’t that senseless?

I was 21 years old, I got into a dormitory in another city. Like other students, I spent time with my friends. That’s how my first pack of cigarettes appeared. Later – second, third. I didn’t notice how quickly a new habit became an addiction.

Then I quitted, although it was difficult. And so, after 6 years, I smoke again – I couldn’t stand the stress due to work and the war. I vainly reassure myself that icos and vape are not as harmful as regular cigarettes, but I realize that this is not the case: they are still harmful, costly, and most importantly, addictive.’

 

Fight against tobacco smoking at the state level

The fight against tobacco use is one of the international obligations that Ukraine undertook in 2006 with the ratification of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Therefore, for more than a decade and a half, our country has been declaring the fight against tobacco smoking as one of the areas of state policy.

In addition, the Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 722/2019 defines the provision of a healthy lifestyle as one of the ‘Goals of sustainable development’. The Cabinet of Ministers set the task of reducing the prevalence of smoking by 4% for women and 23%-20% for men by 2025-2030, respectively (the base group for both sexes is people aged 16 to 29 years – author).

The current situation with the use of tobacco in Ukraine can be illustrated by the State Statistics Service. Thus, in the period from 2015 to 2020, the share of smokers among men aged 16-29 decreased by 6.3%, and among women – increased by 0.6%. Despite the seemingly positive dynamics among men, in order to reach the defined benchmarks by 2030, Ukraine needs to accelerate.

 

Viktor, 31 years old: ‘In my circle of lawyers, it used to be fashionable to smoke a pipe. I have 6 different pipes, I have been collecting them, it is a kind of art form. In the evening, I arranged a whole ritual: stuffed tobacco, lit it and enjoyed the process. I smoked without filters. Then I started living with a woman, the smell of tobacco disgusted her, so now I smoke less often. I began to cough less, the color of my teeth improved, and now I use the time I used to spend on my ‘hobby’ with benefit’.

 

Law No. 1978-IX prohibits the use of tobacco products, hookahs, the use of electronic cigarettes, devices for consuming tobacco products without burning them (IQOS, glo), herbal products for smoking in public spaces and designated places.

 

Heated tobacco products equated to cigarettes: why it matters

Another important innovation of Law No. 1978-IX is the equalization of new ways of using tobacco with other tobacco products. We are talking about tobacco electrically heated products: electronic cigarettes that function by heating liquids, and devices that heat a special stream (like IQOS and glo).

The innovation concerns both the ban on the use and use of such devices, as well as restrictions on other tobacco products: warning labels on the packaging of expendable components (sticks, etc.), ban on advertising and selling them to minors.

Tobacco electrically heated products are positioned as a ‘less harmful’ alternative to cigarettes and other, ‘classic’ ways of using tobacco. For example, Philipp Morris International Inc. claimed to have only 0.5 mg of nicotine per stick for IQOS. However, a study by two independent laboratories in Switzerland and Denmark revealed that the nicotine content in the stick is 4.1 mg. Probably at PMI Inc. resorted to a peculiar ‘trick’ by measuring the nicotine content in the smoke exhaled by a smoker, which is not entirely correct. In addition, the authors of the study tested the sticks for IQOS and for the nicotine content in the smoke released from each stick: 1.2 mg – twice as much as the manufacturer’s advertising convinces.

Serhiy, 48: ‘The 1990s were tough, I smoked with my friends from school.I quit many times.Then I saw with my own eyes death from lung cancer – and it seemed to turn me away.In order to divert the addiction somewhere, I took up sports.

Now my health condition has improved, there is no shortness of breath.

Unfortunately, most of my friends still smoke.’

 

By attracting new groups, the tobacco industry is making smoking socially acceptable.

Ani Leonila Ioseliani, a member of the American Psychological Association, reminds us that smoking is a social phenomenon.

Living in a society, people tend to use the behavior patterns common in their environment. It allows you to keep in touch with other people and identify yourself as part of a community.

‘Many of us try cigarettes with friends as teenagers, start smoking at university during breaks or in other social situations around smokers. People who grew up with smoking parents are also at greater risk of ‘inheriting’ this harmful addiction and becoming smokers. Mostly young people start smoking because of social pressure and expectations and sometimes it is also a form of teenage rebellion. Later, most smokers try to periodically quit this addiction. But often this struggle stretches for a lifetime. Therefore, the best way to quit smoking is to never start’, says the psychologist.

From this point of view, an important direction of the legislators’ work on limiting the scope of tobacco use is the further minimization of social situations and spaces where smoking will be permitted.