Marichka Padalko spoke about the ban on the sale of cigarettes and hookah smoking

In July 2023, the law banning the sale of flavored cigarettes will come into force, thanks to the efforts of activists, NGOs, and parliamentarians. Likewise, smoking hookahs in public places (including restaurants) will be subject to the same prohibitions. Six years ago, Marichka Padalko, the host of TSN and the 1+1 marathon “United News” , joined this campaign. 

To draw attention to the problem of smoking among teenagers, Marichka shared a photo she took 6 years ago on her Instagram page. The presenter is holding a white sheet of paper with the inscription “Cigarettes are not candy!” According to research, more than 80% of children started smoking with flavored cigarettes.  

“Anti-tobacco activists say that this poster turned out to be ‘lucky,’ and I’m ready to forgive it for all the little insidious troubles it brought me a few years ago in the midst of various political disputes on social media as a reminder: “Never take a picture with a white sheet, any signature can appear there later.” Now I realize that the goal is important, and everything else is trivial. You may remember that Ukrainians have not smoked while eating for 11 years, and once even talk of a smoking ban in restaurants was perceived as an infringement on their rights and freedoms. But now smokers themselves say that they like to separate the two,” Padalko writes in a post on the social network.

As an advocate of a healthy lifestyle, the TV presenter cannot stay away from issues related to the health of Ukrainian youth. Therefore, it actively supports all initiatives that will reduce the prevalence of smoking among children and young people and protect them from tobacco addiction. 

The presenter is convinced that the most effective way to tell a child that smoking destroys health and leads to incurable diseases is to tell them your own story:

“The main thing is to be an example, because it is difficult to explain to a child the dangers of cigarettes when the whole house is covered with cigarette butts.”

Photo: press service