Tobacco.org

• Transnational tobacco company influence on tax policy during privatization of a state monopoly: British American Tobacco and Uzbekistan. 

CONCLUSIONS: Privatization can endanger effective tobacco excise policies. The International Monetary Fund should review its approach to privatization and differentiate the privatization of an industry whose product kills from privatization of other industries.

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World No Tobacco Day in Uzbekistan 

meeting was held on 31 May at the Tashkent Architectural Construction Institute on the occasion of the World No Tobacco Day, UzA reported.

The workers of the healthcare system, as well as representatives of the intelligentsia participated in the event organized by the Republican Institute of Health together with the Kamolot Public Youth Movement, Republican Drug Centre, International Ecosan Organisation.

Meeting participants repeatedly emphasized the bad consequences of smoking. . . .

Narcology expert of the Republican Nacrological Addiction Clinic Venera Kadirkaeva told young members of audience about the bad consequences of smoking. . . .

During the meeting it was noted that measures were being taken in Uzbekistan to counteract smoking. Thus, people, particularly youth are actively engaged in sports, and new sports facilities are being constructed. The competitions such as Umid Nihollari, Barkamol Avlod, and Universiada are being conducted on the initiative of the President.

The government has emposed restrictions on the advertising of tobacco products by means of mass media near educational facilities. As a result of such measures the consumption of tobacco products is decreasing, people are given increasingly more attention to living healthy lifestyles.

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• How BAT Lobbied To Kill Off Groundbreaking Tobacco Legislation In Uzbekistan, New Study 

A paper in the British Medical Journal reveals for the first time how British American Tobacco actively undermined and eventually overturned groundbreaking legislation that would have served to protect the health of the Uzbek population.

In 1994, Uzbekistan's tobacco industry was privatised and BAT established a production monopoly in a joint venture with the Uzbek government, led by the President Islam Karimov. Having observed just one electronic billboard in the country during a visit in July 1993, BAT noted in a marketing report that Uzbekistan was ‘unique in the world in terms of its singularly unexploited advertising and promotional environment', with advertising costs that were ‘cheap enough to allow multinationals almost unrestricted market spend'. The company aimed to exploit this environment, projecting a 45% increase in annual cigarette consumption between 1993 and 1999.

This would clearly require freedom to advertise and when BAT learned that the Uzbekistan's Chief Sanitary Doctor had issued ‘Health Decree 30', a potentially highly effective piece of tobacco control legislation that was unprecedented in the region, it responded immediately. . . .

BAT fought to have the degree withdrawn or amended. When the chief sanitary doctor refused to concede to BAT's demands, the matter went straight to President Karimov and BAT ultimately achieved their desired amendments. The intended total ban on advertising was replaced with a voluntary code. . . .

Until now, the only information available on these events was a self-serving report by BAT that failed to mention the existence of the original decree, implying instead that BAT had instigated the development of the new code, and attempting to present the code as an example of ‘the company's responsible attitude to its advertising practices'. Today's paper reveals the real story of the code's development, based on detailed analysis of BAT corporate documents . . .

The findings were corroborated by individuals who cannot be named for their own safety as those who have been involved in tobacco control in Uzbekistan have been subject to harassment and torture. . . .

cco advertising in Uzbekistan became ubiquitous from the mid-1990s. Reports from this highly secretive state suggest that tobacco consumption has increased by between 7% and 8% each year, primarily among young people, and cigarette sales rose by 50.5% between 1990 and 1996. By 1999, BAT had achieved a market share of over 70%.

Dr Anna Gilmore of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the report's leading author, comments: ‘Between 1992 and 2000 BAT's investment accounted for over a third of total foreign direct investment into Uzbekistan. The Chief Sanitary Doctor was powerless next to BAT. There can also be little doubt that BAT's behaviour has condemned the Uzbek population to suffer far higher rates of tobacco related diseases than would otherwise have occurred.' . . .

: ‘In the light of these and other, similar revelations, the International Monetary Fund needs to reconsider its support for tobacco industry privatisation which is clearly fraught with danger for the population's health.

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BAT Uzbekistan reduced cigarette output 14.7% in 2005 

The Uzbek-British joint venture British American Tobacco Uzbekistan (BAT Uzbekistan) produced 5.263 billion cigarettes in 2005, down 14.7% from 2004, the Uzbek State Statistics Department said.

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British American Tobacco's erosion of health legislation in Uzbekistan -- Gilmore et al. [extra: Further Details] 

As part of a broad search for documents on the former Soviet Union detailed elsewhere,w35 and undertaken at the Guildford archive between July 2000 and 2002, over 35 specific terms were included for Uzbekistan. A search of tobacco industry journals dating from the start of 1990 to the end of 2000 was used to inform the search by providing information on key players, factories, regions of interest etc that could then be used as search terms. An iterative approach was used with initial broad search terms such as "Central Asia", "CAR" (central Asian Republics), "Uzbek*", "Tashkent", later narrowed to include the names of key individuals, places, projects, factories and so on identified. The documents ordered took up to two years to be delivered by BAT.

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British American Tobacco's erosion of health legislation in Uzbekistan ($$) 

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• Concerns Over Influence of Tobacco Firms in Low Income Countries 

This week’s BMJ raises serious concerns about the influence of global tobacco companies when they invest in low income countries.

Mexico and the tobacco industry: doing the wrong thing for the right reason? BMJ Volume 332 pp 353-4

British American Tobacco’s erosion of health legislation in Uzbekistan BMJ Volume 332 pp 355-8

Editorial: The tobacco industry in developing countries BMJ Volume 332 pp 313-4 . . .

BMJ Editor, Fiona Godlee adds: "It is depressing to hear from Ernesto Sebrie and Stanton Glantz that WHO has been silent about countries that fail to honour its framework convention on tobacco control. WHO took a brave stand a few years ago in facing up to its own tobacco links. Now is the time for WHO to speak out again."

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British-American Tobacco Uzbekistan issues 'tobacco' grants 

Positioning itself as a socially conscientious company, British American Tobacco Uzbekistan has started on a long-term project aimed to support business partners - families in tobacco growing business.

The company has issued grants for ten students that have passed entrance exams to higher educational facilities of Uzbekistan on paid basis. It takes on the obligation to pay the tuition fee throughout four years of studying for Bachelor's degree. The slogan of the charity campaign is "By investing in youth, we invest in the future of the country".

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Uzmetcombinat announces its territory nicotine free zone 

The staff of shareholder union Uzmetcombinat announced its territory the nicotine free zone as of 2005.

The organized fund on stimulation of the healthy lifestyle calls metallurgists refuse of harmful habits and take care of their health, and the workers, who lead healthy lifestyle are awarded at the end of each quarter by the fund.

During the first quarter, the industrial plant counted 9,103 off-days regarding the health problems of the mettalurgists. During the second quarter, after setting the new rules, the number equaled by 749 off-days.

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• Notebook: The smoking gun 

Recent events in Uzbekistan have reopened the debate over whether our leading firms should be doing business in places with nasty regimes - and, if so, how they should respond when clear abuses of human rights come to light.

Take British American Tobacco, one of Uzbekistan's largest foreign investors, having pumped $277m (£150m) into the country since 1994. It is also one of the largest local taxpayers and so contributes to the regime's stability.

A BAT spokesman was busy maintaining this week that since his was a multi-national company, it was not a "political animal". It was not BAT's role to start raising with the government issues such as torture and the massacre of civilians. Of course, this is the same argument employed by BAT in Burma - before public pressure and a request from the British government forced it to sell its assets there.

The argument might have some credibility - but for the fact that BAT clearly is a political animal. In 2003, the company donated £235,000 to political parties and an extra £25,000 to Britain in Europe (the Tory MP Ken Clarke is the deputy chairman of the company.) An unknown amount is spent on behind-the-scenes lobbying.

So it seems the company can be political when it comes to joining the euro but not when human rights are concerned.

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• Uzbek journalists start campaign against drugs, smoking 

TV and Radio Company and Uzbekistan Journalists' Union launched a campaign to fight drug, alcohol and tobacco use called "4 No's".

Initiators of the campaign said in their release that the programme was aimed to mobilise society to fight against three vices - drugs, alcohol and tobacco - and AIDS.

Within the programme, Tashkent TV will hold a TV marathon dedicated to drug, alcohol and tobacco use, while Yoshlar (Youth) radio will organise a series of radio marathons.

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BAT invests $300 mln in Uzbekistan's tobacco industry since 1992 

British American Tobacco Company (BAT), the owner of a controlling stake in the British-Uzbek joint venture BAT Uzbekistan, has invested $300 million in Uzbekistan's tobacco industry since 1994, a source in the joint venture told Interfax.

BAT has fulfilled its investment obligations laid out in a contract made with the Uzbek government in 1994

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British-Uzbek firm cuts cigarette output by over 4 per cent.. 

The cigarette output of Uzbek-British joint venture British American Tobacco (BAT) Uzbekistan declined 4.1 per cent on the year to 4.632bn cigarettes in January-September, an official with the joint venture's press service told Prime-TASS today. The company's cigarette exports fell 13.1 per cent on the year to 114.5m cigarettes in January-September. The official attributed reductions in the company's exports to countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus to increasing competition from cigarette producers in these countries as well as tobacco import duties being imposed by Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

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BAT Uzbekistan predicts 2004 net losses of $12.5 million 

The Uzbek-British joint venture British American Tobacco Uzbekistan, or BAT Uzbekistan, is forecasting net losses for this year of 12.9% billion sum, or around $12.5 million, a source in the company's management told Interfax.

In the first half of 2004, the company incurred net losses of 5.7 billion sum, paying 14.8% billion sum in taxes and charges to the budget for the half. . . .

In the ten years it has been operating in Uzbekistan, main shareholder British American Tobacco has received $5.8 million in dividends, or 2% of the $285.1 million in investments the company has made, one company source said. That is "extremely unsatisfactory for the shareholders," he said.

Illegal tobacco products have the main negative influence on company operations and results, he said.

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• Anti-Tobacco Coalition of Uzbekistan founded 

Anti-Tobacco Coalition of Uzbekistan For free from tobacco Uzbekistan was founded in Tashkent.

The coalition was initiated by the Tashkent Centre for Harmony and Health Worthy Life.

The coalition united state structures, medical establishments, scientific institutes, educational and pedagogical establishments, ecologic, sports, religious and other organisations to fight and control tobacco use in Uzbekistan.

The founding conference held on 18 August adopted the Declaration and Regulation of the Coalition.

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