Ukraine

Project and Country Background

Ukraine has a population of 44.6 million people; 45 percent of the adult male population, 10.6 of the adult female population and 19.2 percent of the youth population smoke tobacco products.1 An estimated 117,039 people die in Ukraine each year from diseases caused by smoking.2

TPackSS worked with in-country collaborators to purchase cigarettes in three major cities: Kyiv, Lviv and Donetsk. Within each city, packs were collected from a sample of 12 economically and socially diverse neighborhoods. Data collectors purchased one of every unique cigarette pack available from vendors selected in each neighborhood. From August 13 to August 23, 2013, data collectors purchased 324 unique cigarette packs.

The tobacco packaging and labeling requirements in effect at the time of data collection were used to assess each tobacco pack’s compliance with the requirements.

Suggested Citation for Information on this Page: Tobacco Pack Surveillance System (TPackSS). Ukraine: Project and Country Background. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. http://globaltobaccocontrol.org/tpackss/country/ukraine [Insert Last Updated Date].

The biggest challenge and threat in Ukraine right now is that the Tobacco industry targets women a lot. They use all possible means in terms of design, colors and branding to make their product attractive.
Andrii Skipalskyi
LIFE Chairman of the Board and Smoke Free Ukraine Project Coordinator

Browse packs from Ukraine

Highlights of Packaging and Labeling Requirements by Data Collection Year

Data collection dates Type of warning Warning label size and layout Number of warnings to be displayed Rotation Rules for misleading descriptors Other warning label requirements considered during coding

Aug. 13 to Aug. 23, 2013

[324 unique packs collected]

Picture and Text
50% of front (text), 50% of back (picture)

11

Intended to be changed every 5 years, but not specified

Some restrictions

Warnings may not be placed where they may be damaged or concealed when opening the pack. Warning text bolded and in black on a white background. Warning text and pictorial warnings framed by a black border, with text within the pictorial warning covering at least 40% of area within the black border.

Tobacco packaging and labeling in Ukraine is regulated under the Law of Ukraine No. 2899-IV On Measures to Prevent and Reduce the Consumption of Tobacco Products and Their Harmful Influence on the Population’s Health (Law on Tobacco Control). In 2012, Law of Ukraine No. 1824-17 On the Introduction of Changes to Some Legislative Acts of Ukraine on the Restriction of the Consumption and Sale of Beer and Low Alcoholic Beverages was passed as an amendment to the Law on Tobacco Control. This law mandates pictorial warning labels on tobacco packaging. Decree No. 306 set standards for the pictorial warnings enforced by the amendment.3

  1. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, Country profile Ukraine. (2017). Retrieved October 25, 2018

    from http://www.who.int/tobacco/surveillance/policy/country_profile/ukr.pdf.

  2. Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017) Results by Location, Cause, and Risk Factor. Retrieved November 29, 2018

    from http://ihmeuw.org/4nor.

  3. Tobacco Control Laws Country Details for Ukraine: Packaging and Labeling. (2015). Retrieved April 21, 2016

    from http://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/legislation/country/ukraine/pl-health-warnings.