… Urge Governments to support Tobacco farmers to swift to alternative nutrition crops
By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The World Health Organization African Regional Director, Dr. Matshidiso Rebecca Moeti has hinted that Tobacco users in Africa have increased to 74 million people in 2018 from 61 million adult users in 2000 due to an aggressive marketing strategy by the Tobacco industry.
Moeti gave this hint in her message today 31 May 2023 as WHO joins the rest of the international community to commemorate the World No Tobacco Day with the theme , ‘Grow Food Not Tobacco.”
She said, “The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health challenges the world has ever faced, killing more than eight million people around the world every year.”
” While the number of people using tobacco products is decreasing in other parts of the world, it is rising in the Africa Region. For example, the number of tobacco users in the WHO African Region increased from an estimated 64 million adult users in 2000 to 73 million in 2018. ”
“This is partly due to the increased production of tobacco products as well as aggressive marketing by the tobacco industry.”
According to the WHO African Region Lead, Tobacco day gives an opportunity to highlight the dangers associated with tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke.
‘It is also an occasion to renew our advocacy for effective policies to halt the tobacco epidemic and its impact on individuals, societies, and nations.”
Speaking on the theme for this year, she noted that the theme,“Grow Food, Not Tobacco”, aims to raise awareness about alternative crop production and marketing opportunities for tobacco farmers and encourage them to grow sustainable, nutritious crops.
Also,, Moeti stated that Tobacco growing and production exacerbates nutrition and food insecurity, with an increase in Tobacco it by 10.6% in Africa.
Recently, tobacco cultivation has shifted to Africa because of a regulatory environment that is more favorable to the tobacco industry, as well as an increasing demand for tobacco in the region.
“Tobacco farming destroys the ecosystems, depletes soils of fertility, contaminates water bodies and pollutes the environment.”
WHO warns that any profits gained from tobacco as a cash crop may not offset the damage done to sustainable food production in low- and middle-income countries.
“We face a grave challenge in food and nutrition security imposed by the increasing tobacco farming in the Africa Region.”
” Available data shows that while the area under tobacco cultivation decreased by 15.7% globally, in Africa it increased by 3.4% from 2012 to 2018. ”
Meanwhile, WHO has called on Governments to support tobacco farmers to switch to alternative crops by ending tobacco growing subsidies .
“Shifting from tobacco to nutritious food crops has the potential to feed millions of families and improve the livelihoods of farming communities in Africa.”
Finally, we appeal to tobacco-growing countries in the Africa Region to step up the implementation of Articles 17 and 18 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) by enacting legislation; developing, and implementing suitable policies and strategies, and enabling market conditions for tobacco farmers to shift to growing food crops.
This would provide them and their families with a better life while enhancing the protection of the environment and the health of people, Moeti emphasized.
