Tobacco Giants Dismiss Russian Official's Claim

Source from:  biz.yahoo.com MOSCOW (AP) Wednesday July 23 07/24/2008

Tobacco giants dismiss Russian public health official's claim of "nicotine genocide". Global tobacco companies have dismissed claims from Russia's chief public health officer that they have contributed to "nicotine genocide" in the country, insisting that they produce only "high quality" products. Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's chief sanitation officer, opened an attack in an interview with Interfax news agency this week, lambasting Western tobacco companies as making huge profits at the expense of Russians' health. "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. Tobacco companies "are cashing in on the nicotine genocide of the Russian people," he said. Russia's $12 billion tobacco industry is dominated by three non-Russian companies -- Philip Morris International Inc., British American Tobacco PLC and Japan Tobacco International. Tobacco companies shrugged off Onishchenko's claims Wednesday, saying they produce only the highest-quality cigarettes in Russia, many of which they import to European countries. "We cannot manipulate levels of nicotine," said a spokeswoman for British American Tobacco on customary condition of anonymity. "This sounds like a totally unsubstantiated claim." Both Japan Tobacco International and Phillip Morris International also rejected the claims. Enditem