The government has put in place a procedure for disclosing the records of the interaction (such as agenda, attendees, minutes and outcome) with the tobacco industry and its representatives. (Rec 5.1)
Information about some of the meetings that the government representatives have with public, business, etc. is disclosed by such as the record of the agenda, attendees, minutes, outcomes. However, there is no specific policy, procedure, rule related to disclosing the records of the interaction (such as agenda, attendees, minutes and outcome) with the tobacco industry and its representatives.
The government requires the tobacco industry to periodically submit information on tobacco production, manufacture, market share, marketing expenditures, revenues and any other activity, including lobbying, philanthropy, political contributions and all other activities. (5.2)
Information on maximum retail prices of manufacturers and importers of tobacco products is submitted to the State Fiscal Service and it published on SFS’ website twice a month[1].
The State Fiscal Service website also contains Unified State Register of Equipment for Industrial Production of Cigarettes[2]. According to Article 9.1 of the Law of Ukraine “On the State Regulation of Production and Circulation of Ethyl Alcohol, Cognac and Fruit Alcohols, Alcohol Beverages and Tobacco Products,” each manufacturer or importer of tobacco products is obliged to provide information on the ingredients of tobacco products meant for sales on the customs area of Ukraine to the central executive agency which implements national policy in the area of sanitary and epidemic wellbeing of the population annually, by February 1 of the year following the report year[3].
The tobacco industry does not provide information on marketing of tobacco such as incentives given to the retailers, promoters, marketing spending on tobacco displays at the points of sale.
PMI and BAT do not report spending on 1) tobacco ads in social media and paid smm post published by influencers 2) sponsorship of events that promote and stimulate sales of IQOS[4] and Glo[5].
The tobacco industry is not obliged to report expenditures on lobbying.
The government has a program / system/ plan to consistently[6] raise awareness within its departments on policies relating to FCTC Article 5.3 Guidelines. (Rec 1.1, 1.2)
In 2018 the Government together with the WHO country office conducted training for government representatives raise awareness on policies related to FCTC Article 5.3 Guidelines[7].
The government has put in place a policy to disallow the acceptance of all forms of contributions/ gifts from the tobacco industry (monetary or otherwise) including offers of assistance, policy drafts, or study visit invitations given or offered to the government, its agencies, officials and their relatives. (3.4)
The law prohibits all forms of financial or other support by the tobacco industry to events, activities, individuals, or groups, including political parties or politicians, sportsmen or sports teams, artists or artist groups, and educational institutions of any form of ownership. The law also prohibits the tobacco industry to provide financial support to informational campaigns or events for the public, including youth prevention programs. These prohibitions apply regardless of whether the financial contribution or support is publicized[8]. However, the tobacco industry has been violating the law (as mentioned in Q 1, Q 9 and policy drafts, policy recommendations are accepted).
[1] State Fiscal Service. http://sfs.gov.ua/cigars. April 8 2019.
[2] State Fiscal Service. http://sfs.gov.ua/dovidniki–reestri–perelik/reestri/191577.html. April 8 2019.
[3] Verkhovana Rada of Ukraine. http://zakon0.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/481/95-вр. April 8 2019.
[4] https://www.instagram.com/iqos.ua/ https://www.facebook.com/iqos.ua/. April 25 2019.
[5] https://www.instagram.com/glo_ukraine/ https://www.facebook.com/mygloua/. April 25 2019.
[6] For purposes of this question, “consistently” means: a. Each time the FCTC is discussed, 5.3 is explained. AND b. Whenever the opportunity arises such when the tobacco industry intervention is discovered or reported.
[7] Materials from the training on WHO FCTC 5.3 and novel tobacco products conducted in 2018 in Ukraine. WHO Country Office Ukraine. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qyaj3pled6apz5g/AAAlY1ZeLOACSJSZW2ZkIR1Sa?dl=0. April 8 2019.
[8] Article 16 Law of Ukraine No. 2899-IV on Measures to Prevent and Reduce the Consumption of Tobacco Products and their Harmful Influence on the Population’s Health. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2899-15 April 8, 2019.