We remember the times, not so long ago, when evil tobacco peddlers ran roughshod over the nation.
They spent lavishly. They overproduced billions of cigarettes from Ukrainian factories, flooding Europe with cheap and illicitly smuggled smokes.
They beat back tax hikes and smoking restrictions with the help of their friends in high places.
They plastered billboards and kiosks in unrelenting and shameless advertising/marketing campaigns to make a deadly addiction seem glamorous.
Their products sent 100,000 Ukrainians to early graves every year.
But the forces of good are winning out. There are many people to thank – including smokers themselves who, polls show, want to quit smoking and support restrictions that might help them do so.
But there are many public health champions, in and out of government, to thank as well.
Ukraine adopted the international Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2006, laying the groundwork for the public health measures that took effect this year.
Ukrainian cigarettes, once among the cheapest in the world, have been getting gradually more expensive as the nation’s lawmakers wised up to the need for tax increases.
Tobacco advertising is banned almost everywhere. Cigarette packs now feature large and prominent text and graphic warnings.
And perhaps the most visible and welcome change took place on Dec. 16, when the legal ban on indoor smoking in public places finally took effect.
Such a ban will improve the health of millions of Ukrainians who are no longer forced to inhale secondhand smoke, for which there is no safe level of exposure.
