Kyrgyzstan - may ban tobacco advertisements in the mass media..

Coat-of-Arms, Click to enlarge:
November 18, 2009 - The Kyrgyz Republic (official name, population (July 2008) 5,356,869) parliamentary committee on social policy has approved the government's proposal to fully ban tobacco advertisements in the mass media, the parliament press service told Interfax.

Smoking Prevalence: Adults (18-65) Male - 60 percent, Females 15.6 percent; Youth (9-17) Males 24 percent, Females 20 percent.

Kyrgyz Health Minister Marat Mambetov told the committee that "a full ban on all forms of advertising in the mass media reduces the social attractiveness of smoking and reduces the consumption of tobacco products, especially among young people."

Research done in other countries shows that "cigarette consumption dropped by on average 25% after tobacco advertisements were banned," the minister said. Appropriate changes to the law On Advertising will be made in the nearest future, the minister said.

In the meantime, tobacco advertisements are one of the main sources of revenues for the mass media in Kyrgyzstan.

Reference: Tobacco Advertisements Could be Banned in Kyrgyzstan, Interfax - China Tobacco Online, 11/18/2009.

Kyrgyzstan has ratified (May 25, 2006) 2004) the
WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Treaty.