Tobacco.org

Cigarette prices to rise in Kazakhstan-to 32 cents 

Cigarette smokers in Kazakhstan will soon have to dig a little deeper when buying a packet after the government introduced a minimum price of 40 tenge ($0.32) per packet.

No reason was given for the new law, published in state media on Friday. The government has restricted cigarette advertising but smoking is widespread, tolerated in most restaurants and bars and there is relatively little discussion about its health implications.

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• Kazakhstan joins WHO convention on tobacco control 

Majilis Committee for International Affairs, Defense and Security made a conclusion recommending the Chamber to adopt the draft law which foresees ratification of framework convention of the World Health Organization on tobacco control. Kazakhstan became the 129th state of the world to sign this convention.

Framework convention is an international legal document which binds the states to restrict global spread of tobacco and tobacco goods.

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Asia-Pacific | Kazakh 'lighter' goes up in smoke 

A 32-storey skyscraper which locals in the Kazakh capital Astana brand the "cigarette lighter", because of its shape, burst into flames on Tuesday.

A fire on the top floors sent smoke billowing above the capital, before the fire was brought under control.

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Letters: Lighting up time 

Every day 70 die of tobacco addiction in Kazakhstan 

There are about 4 mln. people smoking in Kazakhstan. Tobacco epidemic annually kills 25 000, or 70 every day. But 46 per cent of responders are willing to give up, said Kazbek Tulebayev, Director General of the national centre on problems of formation healthy way of life, in Almaty on May 30.

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RESEARCH AND PRACTICE / Prevalence of Smoking in 8 Countries of the Former Soviet Union: Results From the Living Conditions, Lifestyles and Health Study 

Conclusions. Smoking rates among men in these countries have been high for some time and remain among the highest in the world. Smoking rates among women have increased from previous years and appear to reflect transnational tobacco company activity.

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No Harassment of Kyrgyz Workers in Kazakh Tobacco Plantations - Paper 

The conditions of Kyrgyz tobacco growers legally working in Kazakh plantations are "normal" although there have been critical articles in the press, an article published in the Kazakh newspaper Kazakhstanskaya Pravda says. These workers can earn up to 1,000 dollars a season if they grow good tobacco, the article says. But those without proper documentation cannot even count on minimum legal protection in Kazakhstan, it says. The following is the text of the article by Aleksey Petrovskiy, published by Kazakhstanskaya Pravda on 3 August; subheads were inserted editorially:

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Kazakhstan joins WHO anti-tobacco convention 

Kazakhstan has joined the World Health Organization's anti-tobacco convention.

A press release form the Kazakh Foreign Ministry that was circulated on Wednesday says that the document was signed, in accordance with the Kazakh president's decree, by Kazakhstan's permanent representative to the UN.

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New law regulating advertising in Kazakhstan 

On Monday Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev's press service reported Mr. Nazarbaev signed law which prohibits advertising alcoholic products in the republic beginning January 1, 2004.

Mr. Nazarbaev also signed the law "About the Introduction of Changes and Additions into the Law about the Media". Both documents regulate the production and arrangement of advertisements.

According to new law, radio and television advertisements in Kazakhstan cannot occupy more than 15% of a broadcast.

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Nearly third of kazakhstani people are smokers 

National Center for Healthy Life Problems data nearly third of Kazakhstani people are smokers: 62% - men, 18% - women. The state is anxious about the situation. On July 10, 2002 the law About Tobacco Preventive Measures and Restrictions was adopted in the Republic. First of all, it is to protect children and teens. As the WHO member Kazakhstan participated in the development of the framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

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Philip Morris opens $14-mln tobacco factory in Kazakhstan 

Philip Morris has launched a $14- million tobacco processing factory in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The financing for this project was provided in excess of the company's investment obligations to Kazakhstan, the head of Philip Morris International's Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa division said.

The factory will process up to 7.5 tonnes of tobacco a day.

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• Kazak Smokers Fuming 

"It's madness! Now I have to run out of my office every time I want to have a smoke. I can't leave my workplace and stand in the corridor for hours, in a specially designated place," said businessman Alexei Mandrykin indignantly.

Many Kazak nicotine addicts are similarly outraged by the government's April 1 ban on smoking in public places. The authors of the bill say it is aimed at reducing the number of smokers - there are 3.2 million, nearly a third of the adult population, according to official statistics. But some believe the number is much higher.

"The count was mainly done in the big cities and regional centres, while smokers in the rural areas have never been counted," said sociologist Mikhail Maznov.

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Tobacco companies set to fight smoking among Kazakh children 

Today, the Kazakh government and tobacco companies operating in the country signed a memorandum on mutual understanding. The document says that the fight against smoking among children and teenagers might be more efficient if efforts are pulled together.

The anti-tobacco coalition is planning to carry out several serious campaigns this year. Advertising trailers will be shot under the slogan "They do not smoke", sports events for young people will be held and Internet projects will be carried out. . .

By phoning hot lines, teenagers can receive anonymous consultations on issues of smoking, taking drugs and alcohol consumption.

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USA's Philip Morris invests over 300m dollars in Kazakh economy in 10 years [Source: BBC Monitoring Central Asia] 

The Philip Morris Kazakhstan and Central Asia company (Philip Morris's subsidiary) has invested 323m dollars in the country's economy over the past 10 years.

"Those are mainly projects in the food and agricultural sectors," says a press release issued today by the Kazakh president's press service following the president's meeting with the company's head.

[Kazakh President] Nursultan Nazarbayev and the company's managing director, (?Il Vu Chong), discussed the company's new investment projects in the country, the press release says.

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Smoking and musculoskeletal disorders: findings from a British national survey. 

CONCLUSIONS: There is an association between smoking and report of regional pain, which is apparent even in ex-smokers. This could arise from a pharmacological effect of tobacco smoke (for example, on neurological processing of sensory information or nutrition of peripheral tissues); another possibility is that people with a low threshold for reporting pain and disability are more likely to take up and continue smoking.

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