There are more than 40 million smokers in Russia, as of 2017. A huge part of the country's population regularly endangers their own health and well-being of their loved ones. The Ministry of Health, meanwhile, has not abandoned attempts to protect people from their bad habits.
One such anti-smoking measure is the frightening design and scary inscriptions on cigarette packs.
What is the reason for the terrifying inscriptions
In 2014, the technical regulations of the Customs Union were developed , which introduced stricter requirements for tobacco manufacturers supplying their products to the territory of Russia, Kazakhstan and the Republic of Belarus. The regulation was developed as part of the global framework for tobacco control.
This document entered into force far from immediately. Producers were given almost 3 years to gradually get used to the upcoming reforms. Full entry into force took place on November 15, 2017.
What are the requirements for cigarette inscriptions now?
Packaging Requirements
To say that something has changed in the design of cigarette packages is to say nothing. Now the requirements for packaging design of tobacco products oblige the manufacturer to put demotivating frightening pictures with warning labels. These illustrations should occupy at least 50% of the entire space of the pack and be present on both sides.
Newspaper labels “The Ministry of Health warns you: smoking and alcohol are harmful to your health” now seem like a boring memory. Today, consumers can watch full-fledged photographs of human organs that have already been hit by tobacco. And the explanatory inscription will not allow to confuse a part of the body and the disease present on the package.
Ban on the slightest hint of usefulness or good taste
Now tobacco manufacturers are forced to abandon even the most transparent claims that cigarettes can be tasty or healthy. No associations with food or medicinal herbs. The package should not contain any images with berries, chocolate or coffee, so the design of many tobacco products was drastically changed.
The only exception is made for metol - it can be mentioned in the composition, but only for informational purposes. A flavor characteristic of the product is also acceptable.
Mandatory system poison reminder
17% of the end of the package should be occupied by a reminder that this product contains harmful substances that cause cell mutation, as well as carcinogens and systemic poisons. There was no such requirement before, so the new inscription on cigarettes looks very intimidating.
No "lightness" and liners
Now the manufacturer is obliged to abandon any positive characteristics of his product. Consumers need to know that smoking causes impotence, but they don’t even need to suspect that cigarettes can be "light", "super light", "ultra thin" and so on.
This is done so that the consumer does not have the thought that this product can reduce the risk of diseases associated with tobacco use, is less dangerous to health or contains a substance that reduces the harmful effects.
In general, not the slightest hint of a reduced risk to consumer health.
Among other things, the manufacturer is prohibited from placing advertising inserts inside the package. An exception is made for miniature packs of cigarettes. Inscriptions with the necessary information may not fit, then they can be placed on the insert.
How did mass smoking begin in Russia?
It is worth noting that before the reform of Peter I, when smoking was allowed, this addiction was fought much more effectively. Mikhail Romanov, for example, defeated smoking once and for all, when he introduced a new law - those found guilty of this act would be executed without the possibility of defending themselves in court.
So, for many hundreds of years, our ancestors did not even think about picking up cigarettes. Labels on the packages were not required.
But Peter I had plans to replenish the treasury due to the payment of tobacco excise taxes by merchants, so the ban was lifted, and the addiction to tobacco smoking went to the masses and to this day continues to gain truly terrifying proportions.
As in other countries
The fight against smoking in Russia has relatively young roots. But in Europe, the fight against bad habits has been going on for a long time, methodically and quite effectively.
- Firstly, all mass media regularly remind that smoking is a mental addiction that does not give a person elegance. All the media united in a single impulse, stopped publishing at least some kind of tobacco advertising, but began to actively form a negative image of a smoking person. Smoking has become shameful and not fashionable.
- Secondly, rather high fines of several hundred euros were imposed for smoking in public places.
- Thirdly, smokers were expelled from bars, pubs and other catering establishments.
- And most importantly - the price of one pack is 5-7 euros. It is quite expensive, even for a person with European income.
The results were not long in coming. In Germany, 72% of young people have never tried even one cigarette puff, and for selling tobacco to underage shops there is a thousand-thousand fine, so no one dares to violate the ban.
It is worth noting that Europeans did not refuse cigarette inscriptions, frightening pictures haunt smokers even abroad.
Consequences of Violations
Before launching the product on the market, the manufacturer must obtain the consent of the regulatory authority. Cigarette deliveries cannot be made without checking the pack for compliance.
If cigarettes that violate the requirements of the technical regulations of the Customs Union go to retail, the products must be withdrawn from circulation, and the supplier company will face a rather serious monetary fine, which will still not hit the budget of tobacco corporations with billions of dollars.
Criticism of reform
Not all Russian residents accepted the new packaging design with a high degree of enthusiasm. There were critics of the new requirements.
The main points of dissenting citizens:
- Smoking, as the Ministry of Health warns you, is harmful to your health. This inscription first appeared on the packaging in the USSR, but there were only more smokers.
- Instead of frightening consumers with scary pictures, it is better to place a free center number on the package, where they will help to abandon addiction.
- There is No Tobacco Day in the world - May 31, and this in itself is an excellent information occasion to promote a healthy lifestyle, and it would be reasonable to shift the focus to educational activities.
- The new design will significantly increase the companies' expenses on packaging production; it turns out that inscription on cigarettes is an expensive event.
Is there any result
New requirements exist for less than a year, it is too early to draw preliminary results. One thing is certain - it is vital for Russia to learn from the experience of its foreign colleagues, who in time realized that there weren’t enough frightening inscriptions on cigarettes to stop mass smoking.
It is necessary to popularize the idea that smoking is not prestigious and dangerous. Spend more days without tobacco (May 31 is an example). And most importantly, everyone should start with himself and not be shy to stop tobacco offenders. When a smoker receives 10 comments per day for smoking in public places, most likely for the 11th time he will not smoke there.
What awaits in the future
Back in 2010, the Ministry of Health recognized that Russia is a country where the number of smokers exceeds any reasonable limit. Just think, we smoke more than 40% of the population - almost half.
It is difficult to predict what gene pool is created in this case, what awaits Russia in the future, when half of the inhabitants smoke, and 20% are passive smokers.
That is why the Ministry of Health continues to announce new actions to combat smoking. The inscriptions on cigarettes, of course, will not do.
Now a new project is actively being discussed in the Duma - the depersonalization of cigarette packages. If the proposal of the Ministry of Health is approved by the legislature, then tobacco packaging without individual design will appear in stores. Only plain design and modest name. Will this help in the fight against smoking? It is rather difficult to answer this question. It is only clear that the market share will increase counterfeit, which can now be found in stores. And consumers will be hit even harder than today.