Armenia’s first deputy health minister, Lena Nanushyan, says the country’s tougher tobacco controls, and a coming universal health insurance reform, are designed to reinforce each other by cutting disease and protecting households from catastrophic medical bills.
“Public health and universal health coverage are inseparable,” Nanushyan told Garry Aslanyan in an interview for his Trailblazers series on the Global Health Matters podcast. “With one decision, you can impact many lives.”
Nanushyan, a 2025 WHO World No Tobacco Day awardee, said tobacco control became Armenia’s “number one priority” after a UN/WHO investment case showed it would deliver the biggest health gains. More than half of Armenian men smoke, while vaping and e-cigarettes are rising among adolescents. Passing the law required countering industry claims about jobs and growth, she noted, and Armenia adopted a phased approach so “each year we will have a new provision.”
Enforcement remains the hardest part.
“Not only by law you will have effective tobacco control,” she said. “Every day you need to work on this issue,” including cessation support and school-based education. The ministry plans to compare a new national survey with data from seven years ago to assess behaviour change.
COVID-19, and a concurrent war, shaped Armenia’s health reforms. Lessons learnt, Nanushyan said, must be “institutionalised” through stronger primary care, quality labs and medicines, and better-ready health workers. That is why the government is advancing universal health insurance funded by small monthly contributions to curb out-of-pocket spending.
“We want people to skip the catastrophic expenses,” she said.
She credited cross-government negotiation and data-driven advocacy, plus expertise from Armenia’s global diaspora, for moving reforms forward. But she also called for a louder international chorus.
“We need a stronger public health voice … speaking with one voice and more solidarity,” Nanushyan concluded.
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Image Credits: TDR | Global Health Matters Podcast.
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