Ukrainian Smokers Quit Smoking, Indoor Smoking Ban

More Ukrainians are giving up the highly damaging smoking habit as legislation toughens bans on advertising, smoking in public places and introduces disturbing graphic warnings on cigarette packs. As of Dec. 16, smoking indoors will be illegal as a new law signed by President Viktor Yanukovych in June comes into effect. It prohibits smoking in restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels, governmental buildings, sport arenas and cultural premises. Hookah pipes and electronic cigarettes also fall under the ban.

Price Increase for Cigarettes

The cost of cigarettes will rise to more than $20 a pack over the next four years after Parliament passed the Government's Budget Day promise to the tax on tobacco. The legislation passed last night will raise tobacco excise by 10 per cent increase a year for the next four years. It is expected to lift the price of a typical pack of cigarettes from about $14.30 today to $20 or more by 2016. The Government allocated $20 million over the next four years in this year's Budget for a new innovation fund to develop ways to help more ways to help New Zealanders kick the habit.

Cigarettes Sale Trade Refused, Imperial Tobacco

Sinclair Collis, which is wholly owned by Imperial Tobacco, argued the Scottish Government's legislation to outlaw the machines went against European free trade rules. The law was introduced to bring down the number of smokers, particularly young people, with one in 10 underage smokers said to use the machines. Sinclair Collis operates 1708 cigarette vending machines at 1454 sites throughout Scotland. It argued that most of the machines and their spare parts come from Spain, and said it would no longer have a reason to import them.

Cigarette Packages in Ukraine, Smoking Warning Labels

From October 4 cigarette packs in Ukraine will be produced with warning pictures about diseases caused by smoking, Health Ministry of Ukraine has reported on Thursday. According to government resolution No. 306, 50% of one side of the cigarette package will have the words 'Smoking kills', 50% of the opposite side of the package will contain a picture and warning label. In general 8 different pictures with the corresponding commentaries will be used. In particular, the picture with the X-ray photograph of lung cancer will be accompanied with the words: "Smoking could cause a slow and painful death." Picture of the female face near the death's head will tell: "Smoking causes skin ageing". The picture with the woman, who carries empty pram, contains a title "Smoking reduces woman's reproductive function."