Tobacco growing and the sustainable development goals, Malawi

Kulik, Margarete C.; Bialous, Stella Aguinaga; Munthali, Spy; Max, Wendy

doi:10.2471/blt.16.175596

Cited by 33 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Added to the challenge of controlling production is that if demand remains high, then reductions in production might lead to increases in prices for the commodity, potentially inducing growers to switch back to the production of that commodity. However, production is bound up in the rhetoric of opposition to demand reduction measures by unhealthy productproducing industries such as the tobacco industry [16][17][18]. A strong evidence base and a deep understanding of the theory and practice of agricultural production by health advocates is a critical part of overcoming likely political and economic challenges.…”

Section: Tobacco Food and Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

Government policy and agricultural production: a scoping review to inform research and policy on healthy agricultural commodities

Lencucha

Pal

Appau³

et al. 2020

Global Health

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Unhealthy foods and tobacco remain the leading causes of non-communicable disease (NCDs). These are key agricultural commodities for many countries, and NCD prevention policy needs to consider how to influence production towards healthier options. There has been little scholarship to bridge the agriculture with the public health literature that seeks to address the supply of healthy commodities. This scoping review synthesizes the literature on government agricultural policy and production in order to 1) present a typology of policies used to influence agricultural production, 2) to provide a preliminary overview of the ways that impact is assessed in this literature, and 3) to bring this literature into conversation with the literature on food and tobacco supply. This review analyzes the literature on government agricultural policy and production. Articles written in English and published between January 1997 and April 2018 (20-year range) were included. Only quantitative evaluations were included. Studies that collected qualitative data to supplement the quantitative analysis were also included. One hundred and three articles were included for data extraction. The following information was extracted: article details (e.g., author, title, journal), policy details (e.g., policy tools, goals, context), methods used to evaluate the policy (e.g., outcomes evaluated, sample size, limitations), and study findings. Fifty four studies examined the impact of policy on agricultural production. The remaining articles assessed land allocation (n = 25) (e.g., crop diversification, acreage expansion), efficiency (n = 23), rates of employment including on-and off-farm employment (n = 18), and farm income (n = 17) among others. Input supports, output supports and technical support had an impact on production, income and other outcomes. Although there were important exceptions, largely attributed to farm level allocation of labour or resources. Financial supports were most commonly evaluated including cash subsidies, credit, and tax benefits. This type of support resulted in an equal number of studies reporting increased production as those with no effects. This review provides initial extrapolative insights from the general literature on the impact of government policies on agricultural production. This review can inform dialogue between the health and agricultural sector and evaluative research on policy for alternatives to tobacco production and unhealthy food supply.

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Section: Tobacco Food and Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

Government policy and agricultural production: a scoping review to inform research and policy on healthy agricultural commodities

Lencucha

Pal

Appau³

et al. 2020

Global Health

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“…This dependence has negative consequences for both global health and agricultural development, the intersections of which tobacco control advocates rarely discuss, but might provide an additional opportunity to promote supply reduction policies. Emerging literature from other tobacco-growing countries of sub-Saharan Africa has called for an integration of tobacco control policies into the broader context of Sustainable Development Goals [63]. Such an approach might be further extended to communicate with exporting states and China about the wide-ranging, mostly negative, impacts of the industry on sustainable development and promote alternative industries for investment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“All Weather Friends”: How China Transformed Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Sector

Fang

Souza

Wenham

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Recent research documents the globalization strategy of the Chinese tobacco industry since the early 2000s and risks posed to global health. There are limited analyses to date of how this strategy is playing out in specific countries. This paper analyses the expansion of the China National Tobacco Company (CNTC) in Zimbabwe, the largest producer of tobacco leaf globally, since the early 2000s, through document analysis. It applies a political economy framework—identifying material, ideational and institutional forces—to demonstrate how CNTC capitalized on the unique features of China-Africa development cooperation to pursue its expansion goals, which threaten global public health efforts to reduce tobacco supply. In a context of economic crisis, CNTC offered substantial resources to revive Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry, promoting a shift to contract farming of its preferred leaf. It benefited from perceptions of state friendship, which it fostered through corporate social responsibility initiatives. Through ties with the Chinese embassy and economic actors, CNTC embedded its interests in development institutions. While contributing to improved foreign exchange earnings and some farmers’ livelihoods, CNTC’s expansion has increased the dependence on China as a development partner and tobacco as a crop, benefitting its “go global” strategy, while contributing to public health and environmental challenges locally and globally. The expansion of the Chinese tobacco industry interests in Zimbabwe offers lessons for global tobacco control and efforts to support alternatives to tobacco growing.

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“…As an example, tobacco farmers, including their children who work in the fields, may absorb nicotine each day, with the amount as high as that found in 50 cigarettes. [25] This leads to nicotine poisoning, known as green tobacco sickness; children are particularly vulnerable because of their smaller size compared with the amount of nicotine absorbed. In Malawi, ~80 000 children work in tobacco farming, which has a devastating effect on their health and their ability to receive adequate schooling.…”

Section: In Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Malawi, ~80 000 children work in tobacco farming, which has a devastating effect on their health and their ability to receive adequate schooling. [25] The cycle of poverty is perpetuated, and it is not surprising that African countries dependent on tobacco farming are among the world's poorest nations. [24] While legislation restricts tobacco-promoting activities in highincome countries, [2] in Africa, unfortunately, tobacco companies are able to use aggressive marketing tactics to promote smoking in previously underexploited markets.…”

Section: In Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is a need to switch from tobacco farming to other crops, which has been successfully achieved in a programme in Brazil with a change to fruit or vegetable cultivation. [25] A government programme that encourages the use of locally grown fruit and vegetables for school lunches ensures a market for their produce. In this way a country's economic dependence on tobacco farming and the negative health consequences of tobacco are reduced, and the cycle of poverty is broken.…”

Section: In Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

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Current strategies are inadequate to curb the rise of tobacco use in Africa

Peer

2018

S Afr Med J

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Recently, there have been significant advances in the battle against tobacco use in Africa, with achievements including ratification of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and the passing of tobacco control legislation in several countries. Many African countries have achieved measured success, while Uganda, South Africa and Mauritius have accomplished significantly more in their efforts to curb tobacco use. Nevertheless, few African countries meet the standards of the individual WHO FCTC articles with regard to comprehensive implementation. Africa has lower rates of tobacco taxation, weaker smoke-free policies and fewer restrictions on tobacco advertising compared with other world regions. These shortcomings have enabled the tobacco industry to expand its markets on the continent by capitalising on economic growth, changing social norms and population demographics. Consequently, tobacco use is increasing in Africa, with smoking prevalence having risen 57% between 1990 and 2009 compared with western Europe, where it decreased substantially during the same period. Rapid smoking uptake in Africa has led to tobacco-related conditions emerging as increasingly important public health problems. African nations are unlikely to meet the 2025 goal of a 30% relative reduction in tobacco use, as advocated by the World Health Assembly in 2013 and identified as the 'most urgent and immediate priority' intervention to reduce non-communicable diseases (NCDs). While there has been some progress, the current commitment of most African countries to the WHO FCTC has not translated into effective delivery of tobacco control policies and programmes. Strong tobacco control policies, which are among the most effective population-based strategies for NCD prevention, are needed. These include introducing higher tobacco excise taxes, stronger smoke-free policies, graphic warnings on cigarette packages, bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and anti-smoking mass media campaigns. Furthermore, tobacco industry interference needs to be actively addressed by monitoring its activities and exposing misconducts, thereby changing attitudes to the industry. Technical support, capacity building and adequate financing are needed in Africa to enable countries to competently manage legal challenges to tobacco control and deal with the subversive tactics of the industry. Civil society and the media - major players in holding governments accountable for responsible stewardship - need to educate and pressurise African politicians and governments to implement and enforce effective tobacco control policies. Otherwise, if unchecked, the widespread uptake of tobacco use will be a threat not only to health but also to sustainable human development in Africa.

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Tobacco growing and the sustainable development goals, Malawi

Cited by 33 publications

References 16 publications

Government policy and agricultural production: a scoping review to inform research and policy on healthy agricultural commodities

Government policy and agricultural production: a scoping review to inform research and policy on healthy agricultural commodities

“All Weather Friends”: How China Transformed Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Sector

Current strategies are inadequate to curb the rise of tobacco use in Africa

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