About 6,000 Moldovans die each year from tobacco-related diseases. In order to promote and protect human health and the environment, the authorities aim to tighten the tobacco control legislation.

During a press conference devoted to World No Tobacco Day, Ministry of Health Secretary Svetlana Nicolăescu mentioned the harmful impact of cigarettes on the environment, stressing that “the Ministry of Health strongly supports the WHO’s efforts to tighten anti-tobacco legislation, including with provisions to hold producers accountable for the environmental and economic costs of managing tobacco product waste”.

Stela Drucioc, department head at the Ministry of Environment, noted that the tobacco industry has a negative impact on water, soil and air. “The Ministry of Environment supports the steps to prohibit non-recyclable plastic, including the one used for packaging cigarettes. Work is being done to impose the principle of extended producer responsibility for the tobacco industry in order to cover the disposal of tobacco waste. At the same time, we are working on the application of an environmental tax for tobacco manufacturers, distributors and consumers along the supply chain for carbon emissions”, said the official.

In March, Parliament ratified the Additional Protocol to the World Convention on Tobacco Control. MP Dan Perciun, chairman of the Committee on Social Protection, Health and Family, says that “this protocol imposes a duty on Moldova to ensure a traceability system for each pack of cigarettes so that it is very clear who imports it and who sells it, and to make sure we have control over the whole supply chain to fight smuggling”.

“We will do our best to change the legislation by the end of this year so that all the provisions of the Protocol are transposed into the national legal framework and ensure the traceability of tobacco products in the Republic of Moldova as soon as possible,” said the lawmaker.

Miljana Grbic, representative of the World Health Organization in Moldova, said that the tobacco industry misleads the world, creating a reputation of environmentally friendly producers. But if we look at every step of the production cycle we see that the impact is very negative on the environment, she added.

Farmers who plant, grow and harvest tobacco can absorb as much nicotine per day as the equivalent to 50 cigarettes and be exposed to poisonous pesticides. As a result, they and their family members may develop tumors, genetic mutations, blood diseases, neurological and endocrine disorders, organizers said in a press release.