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Russia sues cigarette giant

Moscow - Russia's top health officer said Monday his governmental agency is suing British American Tobacco's Russian office for misleading the consumers, Russian news agencies reported.

Gennady Onishchenko, director of consumer rights agency Rospotrebnadzor, said he has signed a lawsuit against BAT for "misleading the consumers" and infringing on their rights. Rospotrebnadzor would not specify the nature of the claim.

Alexander Lyuty, corporate and regulatory affairs director at British American Tobacco Russia, said the company have not received any official claim and, therefore, was "not aware of its grounds in detail." Lyuty said BAT was acting "in full accordance with Russian legislation."

Onishchenko launched a ferocious attack on global tobacco companies in July, threatening them with legal action for "nicotine genocide". He said the corporations were making huge profits at the expense of Russians' health.

On Monday, Onishchenko reitereated the claims, saying the tobacco producers view Russia as "an uncivilized market where they can sell dangerous and poisonous products." He also accused the companies of lobbying "barbaric norms for the amount of tar and nicotine in tobacco products."

Russia-based tobacco companies have said they produce only the highest-quality cigarettes in Russia, many of which they then export to European countries.

The details of the claim remain unclear, but market watchers say the suit will likely focus on "light" and "superlight" labeling on cigarette packs.

Rospotrebnadzor considers them misleading as consumers get the impression that light cigaretters are "better for your health, which they are not," Dmitry Yanin, chairperson of the Consumer Societies Confederation, a nonprofit group in Moscow, said after Onishchenko's July attack on the global companies.

The Kremlin has also acknowledged that the country must do more to combat smoking.

Russian health authorities have been pushing for curbs on tobacco producers. Health warnings on cigarette packs in Russia have been growing bigger in the past few years.

Maxim Kulkov, head of commercial practice at Moscow-based Pepeliaev, Goltsblat and Partners, said he does not see any wrongdoing on the companies' part that could substantiate Rospotrebnadzor's claim of misleading information.

"The amount of nicotine is indicated on each pack," he said. "The only thing they say is that the cigarettes contain less nicotine and taste lighter."

- AP

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