UK hands out free cigarettes to Ukrainian soldiers

An agreement between the United Kingdom and Ukraine would allow duty-free imports of tobacco, offered to Ukrainian soldiers who come to train across the Channel, according to an article published in the Telegraph. Justified by the authorities by a concern to maintain the morale of the Ukrainian troops, such a decision nevertheless opposes elementary principles of public health, and seems paradoxical in view of the participation of cigarette manufacturers in the Russian war effort.

The deal was struck between UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov shortly after the first Ukrainian soldiers arrived for training across the Channel. The deal, which was only revealed during talks on the bill banning the sale of tobacco products to people born in 2009 or later, is said to be in response to complaints from Ukrainian soldiers that the price of cigarettes in the UK is too high. A packet of cigarettes costs around €2 in Ukraine, compared to over €18 in the UK.[1].

Distribution of tobacco, electronic cigarettes and nicotine sachets to Ukrainian soldiers

The cigarettes were donated by one of the international tobacco companies, which has remained anonymous, and distributed to the soldiers as part of their rations. Other nicotine products were also distributed, such as nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes. According to available sources, all of these products were only offered to soldiers who smoked, and were accompanied by information on the risks associated with tobacco consumption. As the Telegraph points out, a source close to the case reportedly said that smoking “poses a smaller threat to these brave soldiers than fighting Putin’s illegal invasion of their country.” However, such a statement underestimates the health consequences of smoking, which causes the premature death of one in two users. In reality, facilitating access to smoking considerably increases the dangers to individuals who are already at high risk of immediate life.

Similar operations already observed against Ukrainian soldiers

In 2022, a Ukrainian MP revealed that Philip Morris had donated 500,000 packs of cigarettes to the Ukrainian army, in a country where smoking kills nearly 130,000 people a year. Such communication operations aim to indirectly advertise the manufacturer, but also to spread and normalize the tobacco epidemic. These cigarette distributions also oppose the Ukraine's proactive policies in the fight against tobacco use, and in particular in the area of tax policy. Thus, since Ukraine ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the government has increased the price of a packet of tobacco by 27 times in ten years, at the same time increasing tobacco-related tax revenues by 12 times, while reducing the number of smokers by 40%. This tax policy was renewed from 2017, introducing increases of 20% in the price of a packet until 2025.

Cigarette companies fund war effort against Ukraine

In parallel with these communication operations on the part of the manufacturers, the tobacco multinationals have particularly strong economic activity in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. According to a 2022 report, manufacturers Philip Morris International (PMI) and Japan Tobacco International (JTI) were the top two companies among the twenty most profitable multinationals in Russia at that time. In 2022, the two companies earned $7.9 billion and $7.4 billion respectively in the country. According to the authors of the report, the decision to maintain their activity in Russia is explained by the high prevalence of smoking observed in the country, and contributes to financing the war effort against Ukraine.

©Generation Without Tobacco

FT

[1] Telegraph, MoD hands out free cigarettes to Ukrainian troops, 04/21/2024, (accessed 04/23/2024)