The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective:

The aim of the research was to monitor the promotion of chewing tobacco in Russia and identify any possible breach of the Russian Federation Law or prevent other violations. It will include the detailed picture of how the Snus entered the Russian market and hopefully draw the attention of responsible authorities to the problem, which in our opinion requires immediate action.

Methods:

The primary source used in the research was the official statistics: official releases of the “Neska” company, the exclusive distributor of Snus on Russian territory. Also the final report will include the press reviews and advertisement (both in magazines and billboards), opinion of general public and official authorities.

Results:

Our project has been monitoring the promotion of Snus in Russia ever since it has actually started. In 2004 Nosmoking.Ru together with Russian Public Health Association has filed a suit against “Neska” company for not displaying appropriate health warnings on the official website. Now, when they do place the warning, they are trying to take the full advantage of Russian legislation which obliges them only to place standard warnings. These warnings say literally: “Russian Ministry of Health and Social Development warns: smoking is dangerous for your help”, which, combined with the ad slogan: “Pleasant way to get rid of harmful habit” obviously creates the impression that Snus is a NRT product. Further on, Snus is sold in drugstores.