Introduction
Smoking already kills one in 10 adults worldwide. The World Health Organization has projected that 10 million people a year will die worldwide from tobacco-related illness by the year 2025, most of whom began smoking at a young age. It is estimated that of today’s children and teen-agers, 300 million will be killed by tobacco in adulthood if current trends continue.
Smoking, among other behavioral factors, directly contributes to the growth of non-communicable diseases in Ukraine. According to WHO estimates, the annual number of smoking-related deaths in Ukraine exceeds 100,000. The prevalence of smoking, especially among the working age population, is one of the highest among European countries.
Tobacco is different from many other health challenges. Cigarettes are profitable commodities, whose production and consumption have an impact on the social and economic resources of the country. The economic aspects of tobacco use are therefore critical to the debate of its control. On the other hand, health aspects are critical to any economic analysis of tobacco issues.
As Director General of the World Health Organization Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland said: “The biggest cost from tobacco is the enormous toll it brings from disease, suffering, and family distress. Health, and not economic arguments, are the reason for controlling tobacco, but economic arguments are raised as an obstacle to tobacco control policies.”
The present study analyzes these economic arguments for the situation in Ukraine from the public health perspective. It is a nation-wide economic analysis of tobacco use in Ukraine, including an adult prevalence survey and analyses of the demand for cigarettes, optimal excise tax rates, the repercussions of the privatization of the tobacco industry, the impact of smuggling, the impact of tobacco production upon the economy, and the policies concerning tobacco growers. The results of this study could be useful for the Ukrainian government tobacco control policies in the near future.
The main researcher, author, and coordinator was Dr. Konstantin Krasovsky (ADIC-Ukraine) e-mail. The research group also includes Dr. Tatiana Andreeva (ADIC-Ukraine), Dr. Dmitro Krisanov (Institute of Economics of National Academy of Sciences), Mr. Maksym Mashliakivsky (International Centre for Policy Studies), and Mrs. Galina Rud (Institute of Public Health). Population surveys were conducted by the Institute of Social Research (headed by Dr. Olga Balakirieva) and the Institute of Sociology (headed by Dr. Juriy Zadiraka).
The research was supervised by Dr. Ayda A. Yurekli, Health Economist, World Bank, Washington DC, e-mail
Our research was mainly based on official information provided by the State Statistics Committee, the State Tax Administration of Ukraine, and some other governmental institutions. We also used publications in media sources such as the newspapers “Business” and “Zerkalo Nedeli”, the magazines “Galitski Kontrakty” and “Companion”, and many others. We also use information available on the Internet from such sites as http://www.sovat.com.ua, http://www.tobaccoreview.com and others.
We would like to mention in particular two basic World Bank researches “Curbing the Epidemic: Governments and the Economics of Tobacco Control” (1999) and “Tobacco Control in Developing Countries” (2000), which gave us many background ideas and comprehensive information on the best practices of economic research and tobacco control policies in other countries.
The authors are very grateful to all those who provide them with information for the research. We would like to express our special appreciation to Dr. Bruce Jay Plotkin, Attorney & Legal Advisor, International Trade and Health Law, Seattle, USA, who on September 11, 2001 (!) provided us with valuable information on raw tobacco quotas and import duties.
We are much obliged to Ms. Lisa Houston from the Peace Corps in Ukraine for her help in editing the English version of the report.
While ADIC-Ukraine used its best endeavors in undertaking the work and producing this report, and ADIC-Ukraine and its employees shall not be liable for any damages or losses sustained by any person relying on this report, whatever the cause of the damages or losses.
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