Caretaker Health Minister Calls for Smoking Ban and Restrictions on the Tobacco Industry

Caretaker Minister of Health Assoc. Prof. Mihail Okoliyski called for a working ban on smoking and limiting the interference of the tobacco industry. He participated in a round table "For improved tobacco control and effective implementation of the WHO Framework Convention and Bulgarian legislation", which took place in the "Maxim" hall in the BTA building.

The event is on the initiative of Minister Okoliyski and with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) office in Bulgaria. According to the Minister, it is imperative to take measures to implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and related national legislation. Due to the lack of opportunity for a legislative initiative due to the lack of a working parliament, we decided to send a letter to the President, to all ministries and other institutions, in which two steps are indicated - one is to put an end to double standards and to issue real working orders for a ban on smoking, as it is also prohibited by law, and the second step is to pay attention to the interference of the tobacco industry, he pointed out. The interference happens unobtrusively, but we started to understand that tobacco companies cannot and should not be partners of the Ministry of Health, said Okoliyski. 

Let's try at the end of our mandate to help the process of observing the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and to draw attention to problems that occur "in the yard" of Bulgarian public health, called Assoc. Prof. Okoliyski. According to him, in all EU countries the use of tobacco and heated products is decreasing, but in Bulgaria it is increasing, with about 40% of the Bulgarian population smoking. The most tragic thing is that smoking is very widespread among young people, as in our country girls smoke more than boys, he added. 

For many years our country has neglected these problems due to the powerful interests of tobacco traders, and this continues to be a fact, they buy media that publish unconfirmed by science articles about reduced harm from heated devices, said Mihail Okoliyski. Certain departments also do not observe the smoking ban, said Assoc. Prof. Okoliyski, and pointed out that "people smoke massively" in the buildings of the ministries and the National Assembly.

The WHO Framework Convention outlines the fields of action for the countries that have ratified the document, and it is important that it serves as a guiding thread, said Pavel Antonov, co-founder of the "Bulgaria without Smoke" coalition. According to him, however, in the application of some of the members of this convention in Bulgaria, "large white fields yawn". According to Antonov, there are legal gaps regarding heated tobacco products and they should be filled.

Petar Kirkovski, director of the "Plant Production" directorate at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, pointed out that countries without European regulation, such as Panama and Brazil, indicate in their declarations the protection of people's health and the protection of the environment. Kirkovski said that the declarations were presented during an international forum. 

In some countries, rules are being introduced according to which people born after a certain year will not be able to buy cigarettes, said Dr. Gergana Geshanova, chairman of the "Coalition for Life without Tobacco and Nicotine". According to her, there should be real health education from an early age. According to her, the funds for prevention in Bulgaria are not sufficient, and the advertising of cigarettes, pouches, heated devices is a very powerful influencing factor. Another problem is the permission of sponsorship by the tobacco industry.

The Framework Convention, ratified by Bulgaria in 2005, states that when implementing public health policies, countries should take actions that protect these policies from the influence of commercial and other interests from the tobacco industry, recalled Dr. Masha Gavrailova from the Coalition without Tobacco Smoke.