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Uzbekistan signs Framework Convention on Tobacco Control ($$) 

Rego Pk woman smuggled cigarettes into U.S.: DA  

KENNEDY AIRPORT -- A Rego Park woman was slapped with tax evasion charges after she attempted to smuggle 50 cartons of cigarettes into the country from Uzbekistan, according to the criminal complaint filed by the Queens district attorney.

At about 11:40 p.m., Gulchekhra Kasimova, 36, of 99-44 62nd Ave. in Rego Park, arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport and was about to exit Terminal 4, the documents said.

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• Uzbekistan: New Law Forbids Alcohol Consumption in Streets and Parks  

As reported [ru] by gazeta.uz on 5 October, 2011, the president of Uzbekistan approved a law regarding "the distribution and consumption of alcohol and tobacco products" which will come into force in April 2012. . . .

an interesting question is whether establishments will observe the ban on smoking in public places or adapt them into special alternatives for the consumption of tobacco products?

Furthermore, the law refers to the marketing of tobacco and alcohol products; medical warnings in the form of text or drawings must be visible on at least 40% of the main surface of the label which, according to current law, is only required at 5%.

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• Uzbekistan has banned the sale of tobacco or alcohol to persons under 20 years 

President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov signed a law that prohibits the sale of tobacco or alcohol to persons under the age of 20 years, correspondent BakuToday .

Act on restrictions on the distribution and consumption of alcohol and tobacco products "was adopted by the lower House of Parliament, approved by the Senate June 27, 2011-August 26, 2011, and will enter into force six months after the date of its official publication-April 7, 2011 year.

The law obliges the seller to require the younger buyer proof of his age, and in his absence to refuse the sale of goods. The new law prohibits smoking and to drink alcohol in public places and workplaces.

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• Uzbek National Airline Limits Powdered Tobacco 

Uzbekistan's national air carrier is telling passengers to limit the amount of "nos," or powdered tobacco, they take with them aboard flights, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports.

Use of nos is common throughout Central Asia, is widely available at bazaars, and often carried in small ornate containers. The tobacco is placed under the tongue and produces an effect similar to smoking cigarettes but at a far lower cost.

The Uzbekiston Hawa Yollari air company announced on August 24 that passengers can take no more than 250 grams with them on board.

Migrant laborers are complaining the amount is far too small to last as they take up work in places such as Russia where nos is difficult to find.

Uzbek authorities said the limit has been introduced at the request of Russia where officially nos is considered a mild narcotic.

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Market Report, "Cigarettes in Uzbekistan", published 

Euromonitor International's Cigarettes in Uzbekistan report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data 2006-2010, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be the new legislative, distribution

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Uzbekistani customs authorities prevent import of 246,000 packs of smuggled cigarettes  

Tashkent. For the first nine months of 2010 customs authorities in Uzbekistan have crossed 398 attempts for illegal import of tobacco products, SA-News announced.

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• Transnational tobacco company influence on tax policy during privatization of a state monopoly: British American Tobacco and Uzbekistan. 

CONCLUSIONS: Privatization can endanger effective tobacco excise policies. The International Monetary Fund should review its approach to privatization and differentiate the privatization of an industry whose product kills from privatization of other industries.

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World No Tobacco Day in Uzbekistan 

meeting was held on 31 May at the Tashkent Architectural Construction Institute on the occasion of the World No Tobacco Day, UzA reported.

The workers of the healthcare system, as well as representatives of the intelligentsia participated in the event organized by the Republican Institute of Health together with the Kamolot Public Youth Movement, Republican Drug Centre, International Ecosan Organisation.

Meeting participants repeatedly emphasized the bad consequences of smoking. . . .

Narcology expert of the Republican Nacrological Addiction Clinic Venera Kadirkaeva told young members of audience about the bad consequences of smoking. . . .

During the meeting it was noted that measures were being taken in Uzbekistan to counteract smoking. Thus, people, particularly youth are actively engaged in sports, and new sports facilities are being constructed. The competitions such as Umid Nihollari, Barkamol Avlod, and Universiada are being conducted on the initiative of the President.

The government has emposed restrictions on the advertising of tobacco products by means of mass media near educational facilities. As a result of such measures the consumption of tobacco products is decreasing, people are given increasingly more attention to living healthy lifestyles.

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• How BAT Lobbied To Kill Off Groundbreaking Tobacco Legislation In Uzbekistan, New Study 

A paper in the British Medical Journal reveals for the first time how British American Tobacco actively undermined and eventually overturned groundbreaking legislation that would have served to protect the health of the Uzbek population.

In 1994, Uzbekistan's tobacco industry was privatised and BAT established a production monopoly in a joint venture with the Uzbek government, led by the President Islam Karimov. Having observed just one electronic billboard in the country during a visit in July 1993, BAT noted in a marketing report that Uzbekistan was ‘unique in the world in terms of its singularly unexploited advertising and promotional environment', with advertising costs that were ‘cheap enough to allow multinationals almost unrestricted market spend'. The company aimed to exploit this environment, projecting a 45% increase in annual cigarette consumption between 1993 and 1999.

This would clearly require freedom to advertise and when BAT learned that the Uzbekistan's Chief Sanitary Doctor had issued ‘Health Decree 30', a potentially highly effective piece of tobacco control legislation that was unprecedented in the region, it responded immediately. . . .

BAT fought to have the degree withdrawn or amended. When the chief sanitary doctor refused to concede to BAT's demands, the matter went straight to President Karimov and BAT ultimately achieved their desired amendments. The intended total ban on advertising was replaced with a voluntary code. . . .

Until now, the only information available on these events was a self-serving report by BAT that failed to mention the existence of the original decree, implying instead that BAT had instigated the development of the new code, and attempting to present the code as an example of ‘the company's responsible attitude to its advertising practices'. Today's paper reveals the real story of the code's development, based on detailed analysis of BAT corporate documents . . .

The findings were corroborated by individuals who cannot be named for their own safety as those who have been involved in tobacco control in Uzbekistan have been subject to harassment and torture. . . .

cco advertising in Uzbekistan became ubiquitous from the mid-1990s. Reports from this highly secretive state suggest that tobacco consumption has increased by between 7% and 8% each year, primarily among young people, and cigarette sales rose by 50.5% between 1990 and 1996. By 1999, BAT had achieved a market share of over 70%.

Dr Anna Gilmore of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the report's leading author, comments: ‘Between 1992 and 2000 BAT's investment accounted for over a third of total foreign direct investment into Uzbekistan. The Chief Sanitary Doctor was powerless next to BAT. There can also be little doubt that BAT's behaviour has condemned the Uzbek population to suffer far higher rates of tobacco related diseases than would otherwise have occurred.' . . .

: ‘In the light of these and other, similar revelations, the International Monetary Fund needs to reconsider its support for tobacco industry privatisation which is clearly fraught with danger for the population's health.

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BAT Uzbekistan reduced cigarette output 14.7% in 2005 

The Uzbek-British joint venture British American Tobacco Uzbekistan (BAT Uzbekistan) produced 5.263 billion cigarettes in 2005, down 14.7% from 2004, the Uzbek State Statistics Department said.

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British American Tobacco's erosion of health legislation in Uzbekistan -- Gilmore et al. [extra: Further Details] 

As part of a broad search for documents on the former Soviet Union detailed elsewhere,w35 and undertaken at the Guildford archive between July 2000 and 2002, over 35 specific terms were included for Uzbekistan. A search of tobacco industry journals dating from the start of 1990 to the end of 2000 was used to inform the search by providing information on key players, factories, regions of interest etc that could then be used as search terms. An iterative approach was used with initial broad search terms such as "Central Asia", "CAR" (central Asian Republics), "Uzbek*", "Tashkent", later narrowed to include the names of key individuals, places, projects, factories and so on identified. The documents ordered took up to two years to be delivered by BAT.

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British American Tobacco's erosion of health legislation in Uzbekistan ($$) 

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• Concerns Over Influence of Tobacco Firms in Low Income Countries 

This week’s BMJ raises serious concerns about the influence of global tobacco companies when they invest in low income countries.

Mexico and the tobacco industry: doing the wrong thing for the right reason? BMJ Volume 332 pp 353-4

British American Tobacco’s erosion of health legislation in Uzbekistan BMJ Volume 332 pp 355-8

Editorial: The tobacco industry in developing countries BMJ Volume 332 pp 313-4 . . .

BMJ Editor, Fiona Godlee adds: "It is depressing to hear from Ernesto Sebrie and Stanton Glantz that WHO has been silent about countries that fail to honour its framework convention on tobacco control. WHO took a brave stand a few years ago in facing up to its own tobacco links. Now is the time for WHO to speak out again."

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British-American Tobacco Uzbekistan issues 'tobacco' grants 

Positioning itself as a socially conscientious company, British American Tobacco Uzbekistan has started on a long-term project aimed to support business partners - families in tobacco growing business.

The company has issued grants for ten students that have passed entrance exams to higher educational facilities of Uzbekistan on paid basis. It takes on the obligation to pay the tuition fee throughout four years of studying for Bachelor's degree. The slogan of the charity campaign is "By investing in youth, we invest in the future of the country".

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