Jump to full article: Kyiv Post (ua), 2008-01-10
Author: Mark Rachkevych, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Intro: School-aged girls light up cigarettes in Kyiv this past summer. A World Health Organization-commissioned study has found that Ukraine is a world leader when it comes to underage tobacco and alcohol consumption
Widespread underage smoking and drinking is on the rise as exposure to vices occurs at increasingly younger ages, according to a recent study released by the Ukrainian Institute of Social Research (UISR) conducted for the World Health Organization’s (WHO) collaborative cross-national study of 41 nations. . . .
Although the 41-nation HBSC report hasn’t been published yet, UISR’s Olga Balakireva, the Principal Investigator for HBSC in Ukraine, released a fact sheet of its 2006 findings. . . .
Statistics regarding underage smoking also gave reason for concern since the rates rise with age: the number of smokers for both sexes increased by 7 percent among 6th graders, 15 percent among 8th graders, 26 percent among 10th graders, 50 and 33 percent among college and university level students respectively.
“This could have drastic consequences not only for the government, as healthcare costs will significantly rise, but also for the population as a whole,” said Dr. Serhiy Potashev, Assistant of the Department of Cardiology and Functional Diagnoses at the National Medical Academy. . . .
The “tobacco epidemic” is fueled by ‘Big Tobacco’ profits. The three largest tobacco companies making cigarettes in Ukraine (Phillip Morris/Altria, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International) have combined annual incomes of several billion dollars and have expanded production in Ukraine.
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