The lucrative dangers of tobacco farming

The global spread of tobacco production and use is like gun proliferation in the US. It is one of those evils that causes widespread harm – such as lung cancer, the blocking of arteries and damage to unborn children – but also supports a large number of people and benefits many businesses.

In 2022, the global area under tobacco production was 4.3 million hectares and about 125 countries were producing the crop. Eighty percent of tobacco consumption is in low-and middle-income developing countries. Tobacco has created vested interests, which are difficult to control.

On May 31, the World Health Organisation and public health champions internationally came together on World No Tobacco Day. This year’s theme was “grow food, not tobacco”. The 2023 global campaign aims to raise awareness about alternative crop production and marketing opportunities for tobacco farmers, and encourages them to grow alternative sustainable, nutritious crops. It also aims to expose the tobacco industry’s efforts to interfere with attempts to substitute tobacco growing with sustainable crops, thereby contributing to the global food crisis. It is, indeed, a familiar tactic, also used by the US gun lobby…

https://www.thenationalnews.com/weekend/2023/07/21/the-lucrative-dangers-of-tobacco-farming/