Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures, Tables and Photographs
- Foreword
- Preface
- Introduction: Separating Myth from Reality
- Section One The Determinants of Tobacco Leaf Demand
- Section Two Tobacco-Farming Conditions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
- Section Three Economically Sustainable Alternatives to Tobacco
- Conclusion: Reframing the Debate on Tobacco Control and Tobacco Farming
- Annex: A Policy Brief on Tobacco Control and Tobacco Farming
- Contributors
Section Two - Tobacco-Farming Conditions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures, Tables and Photographs
- Foreword
- Preface
- Introduction: Separating Myth from Reality
- Section One The Determinants of Tobacco Leaf Demand
- Section Two Tobacco-Farming Conditions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
- Section Three Economically Sustainable Alternatives to Tobacco
- Conclusion: Reframing the Debate on Tobacco Control and Tobacco Farming
- Annex: A Policy Brief on Tobacco Control and Tobacco Farming
- Contributors
Summary
Tobacco Industry Myth: Tobacco farmers are currently relatively prosperous and tobacco farming poses no significant risks that cannot be mitigated.
Research Findings:
• Comprehensive cost calculations (that include the cost of unpaid family labor) demonstrate that tobacco farming rarely generates a net gain and often leaves farmers indebted to tobacco companies.
• Tobacco farming is extremely labour intensive and, as a result:
- Child labour is frequent and leads to missed educational opportunities for children;
- Women's unpaid labor is dedicated to tobacco farming rather than producing food or independently generating income and resources for the family.
• The tobacco crop generates many unique and serious occupational health hazards, including green tobacco sickness, exposure to exceptionally high levels of toxic agrochemicals and respiratory problems from drying and storing tobacco leaf.
• Tobacco farming in LMICs causes severe environmental damage, including deforestation, land and soil degradation, pollution of waterways and a host of other ecosystem disruptions.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Tobacco Control and Tobacco FarmingSeparating Myth from Reality, pp. 97 - 98Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2014