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ITGA bemoans WHO’s new tobacco rules

ITGA bemoans WHO’s new tobacco rules
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Fri 28 May 2010, 08:00 CAT

THE International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA) has claimed that Zambia and poorest nations face the prospect of millions of job losses and huge decline in tobacco export revenues following World Health Organisation’s (WHO) new tobacco rules.

ITGA expressed outrage at the devastating impact that the latest set of recommendations from the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) would have on the jobs and livelihoods of millions of tobacco growers around the world.

The new WHO draft guidelines of articles nine and 10 of the FCTC recommend a ban of ingredients used in the manufacturing of tobacco products.

Opposing the new guidelines, ITGA stated that if implemented this rule would virtually eliminate traditional blended cigarettes, which account for approximately half of the global market and at the same time impact on growers who supply the tobacco varieties used in these products would be dramatic.

ITGA stated that latest guidelines drafted by WTO threatened the economic being of most least developed countries whose majority poor depended on tobacco growing.

“These recommendations have been made by bureaucrats, mostly from wealthy countries who know nothing about tobacco growing,” ITGA stated through its chief executive officer António Abrunhosa. “Their recommendations could wipe out the livelihoods of millions of tobacco growers all over the world. For some inexplicable reason, tobacco growers, the very people most affected by the guidelines, are officially excluded from any discussions.”

Abrunhosa claimed that even ministries of agriculture or economy seemed unaware of the discussions taking place within the FCTC.

“There doesn’t seem to be any balanced form of representation whatsoever,” stated Abrunhosa. “Numerous countries, including some of the poorest nations, such as Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania now face the prospect of seeing millions of jobs lost and a huge decline in the export of tobacco. Tobacco cultivation is critical for the economy in these countries and one of the few agricultural activities to have remained buoyant during the recent worldwide economic crisis.”

Zambia last year produced 33.5 million kilogrammes of tobacco with export revenues estimated valued at US $129 million.

About 430,000 Zambians rely on tobacco growing, including 23,000 rural families while 34,500 workers are directly employed in tobacco growing.

Labels: INTERNATIONAL TOBACCO GROWERS ASSOCIATION, TOBACCO, WHO

posted by MrK @ 2:53 PM