Russia: U.S. Tobacco Manufacturers Perpetrating "Nicotine Genocide"

Russia: US tobacco manufacturers perpetrating 'nicotine genocide'
Russia has threatened criminal action against tobacco manufacturers after accusing US corporations of perpetrating "nicotine genocide" against the Russian people on the behalf of their capitalist masters.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/2446540/Russia-US-tobacco-manufacturers-perpetrating-'nicotine-genocide'.html

By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow
Last Updated: 11:35PM BST 22 Jul 2008

Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's combative chief public officer, said he had instructed state lawyers to explore the possibility of criminal prosecution of tobacco companies in the "service of US state capital". He accused them of causing a health crisis among young Russians by peddling cheap tobacco with high tar levels.

The Soviet-style rhetoric of Mr Onishchenko's tirade and his reputation as a Kremlin attack dog will alarm foreign investors in Russia, who are likely to interpret his comments as the beginning of another state-sanctioned assault on the private sector.

Mr Onishchenko mounted a highly effective broadside against Georgian wine and mineral water in 2006, claiming that they failed to meet health and safety standards.

Russia subsequently banned both products, denying Georgia access to the chief market for its two principal exports. Most observers believe that the primary motivation for the ban was a desire by Russia to punish Georgia for sweeping a pro-western government to power during its Rose Revolution of 2003.

In a rambling interview with the Interfax news agency, often used as a conduit for major Russian policy decisions, Mr Onishchenko railed against the "sinecure" that the global tobacco industry had established in Russia.

"The super-profits of US corporations are being paid for by catastrophic repercussions for the health of the younger generation," he said.

Philip Morris International, which manufactures the Marlboro brand, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International dominate the booming Russian market, although many of their products are made under license.

Russians are among the world's biggest puffers, with 60 percent of men and 30 percent of women classified as smokers by official figures.

Mr Onishchenko also lashed out at Russian businessmen in the tobacco sector, describing them as "flunkies" of foreign and US capital "which cashes in on the nicotine genocide of the Russian people."

"They are pressing for medievally high levels of nicotine and tar in cigarettes to be set for Russia, enabling them to flog the worst-quality tobaccos to the Russian people at legally set levels," he said.