Ukrainian Finance Minister Victor Pynzenyk can touch the clouds without opening the windows on the eighth floor of his government office
Ukrainian Finance Minister Victor Pynzenyk can touch the clouds without opening the windows on the eighth floor of his government office.
He sits in his own cloud of dense cigarette smoke while drafting anti-crisis plans for the nation.
One of the best economists in Ukraine, he is also one of the most notorious chain smokers.
“During the five minutes that I was there, he had five cigarettes,” said parliamentarian Oleh Lyashko from Yulia Tymoshenko’s party, describing the minister’s vice.
Public health advocates blame Pynzenyk for some of the cheapest cigarettes and, consequently, one of the highest smoking rates in the world by resisting meaningful tax hikes on the deadly products.
About 40 percent of the nation’s adults light up regularly, while many popular brands still sell for $1 or less a pack. In Western nations that have cut smoking rates, cigarette taxes have pushed retail prices to $5 or more per pack.
“Enough cringing before tobacco giants,” said Hanna Hopko from the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
Together with some 20 other anti-smoking activists, she picketed the Cabinet of Ministers earlier this week.
“The government has decided to raise taxes on virtually everything – alcohol, cars, gas and land in the face of a financial crisis. But cigarettes seem to be omitted on purpose,” said Hopko, referring to the latest economic plan drafted by Pynzenyk.
Based on World Health Organization (WHO) research, higher cigarette prices are the most effective way to get adults to quit smoking and to prevent children from starting.
The finance minister, however, is against the hike. “Raising excise taxes will result in smuggling from Russia, Belarus and Moldova,” Pynzenyk said. “Money from cigarette sales will go to these countries.”
Driven by budget needs for flood relief in western Ukraine this summer, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko managed to push a 10 percent per pack tax hike through parliament. She wanted taxes on cigarettes increased much more.
But her ally Pynzenyk, together with President Victor Yushchenko opposed such an abrupt increase, echoing tobacco industry arguments that predict the black market would surge, raising even less for state coffers.
They failed, however, to suggest an alternative on how to reduce smoking today.
Tobacco ads still prevail over social campaigns in outdoor and print media and also find their way onto late-night television and radio.
A stricter, but still not complete, nationwide ban on advertising will only come into effect next year, when billboard ads will be removed.
The Kyiv City Council took a bold step and partially restricted smoking in public places like bus stops, schools and subways.
But a single trip through the underground passageway at Independence Square shows that people ignore the rule continuing to smoke even next to the “no smoking” signs.
Lawmakers went further and banned cigarettes from workplaces and government buildings altogether.
But many, including Pynzenyk, continue to smoke inside.
Parliament and other government toilets stink of tobacco fumes.
The fact that Ukraine is a smoker’s paradise is written even in travel guides. “You can expect a lot of second-hand smoke in just about any restaurant or bar, although under law they must offer no-smoking sections,” reads the latest edition of the Thomas Cook travel guide.
According to the WHO, more than 100,000 Ukrainians die of diseases caused by smoking annually.
Nevertheless, certain politicians insist that raising taxes will contribute to smuggling from the neighboring countries.
“Smuggling is a corruption problem. Stop telling us tales,” said Hopko of Tobacco-Free Kids. “Let’s fire customs officials or give them fair wages to avoid illicit trade, otherwise we’ll all go up in smoke.”
Health advocates agree that smuggling may become an issue if prices rise drastically above those in Russia or Moldova. A pack of Marlboro cigarettes in Ukraine, however, is still cheaper by a third compared to a Russian pack. So there is room for improvement.
“Moldova won’t feed Ukraine because Romania is closer and more profitable,” said Hopko, slamming Pynzenyk’s reasons for freezing excise taxes.
The finance minister, however, remains at odds not only with anti-smoking activists.
“Ukraine has the lowest taxes on cigarettes in the world, three to four times less than other countries,” Tymoshenko said in advocating for even higher duties. The first hike enforced in September generated an additional $200 million for Ukraine’s budget.
A further increase of Hr 1.50 per pack could bring another billion dollars to the budget, specifies a new bill registered in the parliament.
Why the measure failed to make it into Pynzenyk’s anti-crisis proposal is open for discussion. The finance minister, drawing up rescue plans for the nation, was too busy to comment.
Oleh Lyashko from Tymoshenko’s party suggested that Pynzenyk did not want to pay more for the cigarettes he smokes in large quantities.
“It’s impossible to stay long in his office, and he has really bad breath,” said Lyashko, who smoked for 15 years and quit recently.
“He told me that they raised taxes two months ago and did not want to do it so soon again,” he added, denying a link between the minister and the tobacco industry.
