BY WATIPASO MZUNGU JNR
Delegates from 11 African tobacco growing countries have unanimously spoken against World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on tobacco, saying the proposed ban on the use of ingredients in the manufacture of tobacco products would “actively promote poverty and starvation” in the continent.
This comes a few days after a South African-based international policy analyst, Tim Hughs, had warned Malawi against its silence on the proposed Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) has the capacity to plunge Malawi’s “economy into total aid dependence”. According to the World Bank, tobacco earns Malawi over 70 percent of its foreign exchange. The green gold further contributes 34 percent to our gross domestic product (GDP).
“The impact of the ban on Malawi will be disproportionally severe. We are just six weeks away from a decision that could literally shut down Malawi’s economy and plunge the country into total aid dependence. But Malawi is not speaking,” Hughs told our sister paper, The Daily Times, in the week.
But WHO through Framework Convention Alliance (FCA), a civil society helping WHO in the development and implementation of FCTC, has parried away the fears, arguing that, contrary to industry claims, its guidelines, to be discussed by the 171 parties to the treaty in Uruguay in November this year, do not recommend a ban on burley tobacco, arguing cigarettes containing burley continue to be sold in countries with strong restrictions on flavourings.
The health body explains that the guidelines under contention only recommend that countries should “restrict or prohibit” flavourings that increase palatability, have colouring properties, create the impression of health benefits or are associated with energy and vitality.
“FCA responds to misinformation being spread by organisations of tobacco growers about draft guidelines on tobacco flavours prepared for the Conference of the Parties (COP-4) to the FCTC, which will be held in Uruguay in November. In a factsheet and question-answer document, FCA clarifies that the guidelines are designed to remove additives that make tobacco products attractive to youth. It also explains that the guidelines do not ban particular types of tobacco but recommend that Parties to the FCTC ‘restrict or prohibit’ flavourings,” says the fact sheet sourced on http://www.fctc.org.
“There is also widespread misunderstanding among consumers about tobacco products, their constituents, emissions and harmfulness. Therefore, governments – instead of the tobacco industry – need to control communication to consumers. One major cause for concern is flavourings and additives being widely used in cigarettes and other tobacco products to increase their palatability and attractiveness – particularly among young people,” it adds.
But during their one-day Consultative Conference on WHO FCTC, which took place in Lusaka, Zambia on Thursday, delegates from Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Uganda, Madagascar, Swaziland, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia and the host Zambia resolved to vehemently oppose the guidelines arguing their implementation would lead millions of African tobacco farmers facing starvation.
They noted that Articles 9 and 10 of the WHO FCTC deal with the contents and emissions of tobacco products and would effectively ban the use of ingredients other than tobacco in cigarette production.
“These ingredients are necessary in the manufacture of blended tobacco products, composed primarily of burley and oriental tobacco, which account for approximately half the cigarettes smoked in the world. Without them, farmers of burley and oriental would see demand for their crops disappear. As a result, millions of African tobacco farmers would face starvation if the WHO FCTC articles are implemented,” says the statement.
Tobacco Association of Zambia general manager Knox Mbazima expressed worries over the new guidelines, saying hundreds of thousands of African tobacco-producing farmers will, effectively, be put out of business overnight should the proposal be adopted.
“What we growers are facing now is less than extinction followed by the significant impact in the region's economic prospects. Jobs, government income and international and local investments are at stake. African farmers are already at a disadvantage due to agricultural subsidies that makes it difficult to find viable alternatives. In fact, these guidelines will lead to the promotion of poverty and starvation in Africa,” said Knox Mbazima.
In an email interview yesterday, Wayne Lowe, an official from Diplocom Communications Internanational who released the statement, said top government officials will now write urgent letters to WHO in an effort to get their opposing voices heard. He did not indicate the actual date.
“There is currently no viable agricultural alternative for these farmers and their families. Alternative crops often do not compare in terms of economic yield. Tobacco yields a high income per hectare; alternative crops may require more land if crop diversification is to be viable, the replacement crop has to be specialized or the cultivated area needs expansion,” said Lowe.
On Monday, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Shadreck Jonasi told The Daily Times Malawi has already taken up the matter through Sadc and Comesa to use the bodies’ membership into the FCTC to lobby against the matter.
“Malawi’s position is that this measure would have been introduced on a selective basis because its translation will constrict demand for burley for which Malawi is a major producer with 750,000 households to be affected negatively,” said Jonasi.
Tobacco remains a cash crop for thousands of farmers in Africa including Malawi where about 700,000 farmers produce the leaf and sell it all to international cigarette makers.
END
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