Every year, May 31 is marked as No Tobacco Day. Every year on that day press conferences are held to discuss the dangers of smoking, prohibition of smoking in public places, etc. I do not think that this time something extraordinary or contentious was said. (It is another matter, that the repetitive wordings are not being put into practice). Perhaps the Armenian community of Facebook was remained idle in this season, and decided to discuss those standard wordings, bringing forth some outlandish hypothesis. In Armenia, they particularly fight against smoking, because there is a business deal with “Philip Morris” to sell electronic cigarettes on our people. But no expert and no official in Armenia and in any other country has not and will not say that electronic cigarettes are not harmful, unlike the usual ones. Tobacco fighters fight against any type of smoking.
Conspiracy theories are generally specific to our nation, but especially on Facebook. For example, people believe that some representatives of oligarchy will profit from indoor smoking ban. But actually, the owners of cafes and restaurants will suffer losses. And that is why I believe that the ban will not function, and if I complain about someone smoking next to my table, then both the smoker and the “object owner” will severely berate me, “are you a whistle-blower?”. That is why I think the wordings will not become actions. Raising the price of cigarettes is also a standard step that has been done in all developed and developing countries. The produces will not profit from it either, because, first of all, the excise taxes are being increased, not their income, and it is harder to sell an expensive product. If cigarettes were cheaper in our neighbour countries, then our smokers would seek for those, but our neighbours have already managed to increase the prices for 2-3 times. And again, I doubt that it will happen in Armenia, taking producers’ lobbying into account. Of course, being a smoker or a non-smoker is not directly connected to being successful or not. However, I think no one will argue that a healthy lifestyle is typical to developed, civilized, and advanced societies, where a meaningful, and purposeful life is being propagated. Perhaps, this is what the Minister of Health meant.
But the most striking response was, “I will smoke. I will smoke 4 packs a day contrary to the government’s wishes”. This is very logical.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
