Tobacco farming in Kenya: farmer receives award for successful conversion to food crops
Goodbye tobacco cultivation? The WHO wants a smoke-free world: zero percent smokers. To achieve this goal, the organization is planning further measures in cooperation with countries. This article explains which steps are being taken on the way to a smoke-free society.
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The following is the WHO media release dated 25.05.2023.
WHO calls for end to tobacco subsidies
To mark World No Tobacco Day on May 31, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on governments to stop subsidizing tobacco farming. It calls for promoting more sustainable farming methods that could feed millions of people. "Tobacco is responsible for eight million deaths every year. But governments around the world spend millions to support tobacco farms," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general. "When we choose to grow food instead of tobacco, we prioritize health. In doing so, we preserve ecosystems and strengthen food security for all." Globally, more than 300 million people face acute food insecurity. At the same time, more than three million hectares of land in over 120 countries are used to grow the deadly tobacco, even in countries where people are hungry.
Grow food instead of tobacco
A new WHO report, "Grow food, not tobacco," highlights the downsides of tobacco farming and the benefits of switching to more sustainable food crops for farmers, communities, economies, the environment and the world at large. The report also exposes the tobacco industry for driving farmers into a vicious cycle of debt, promoting tobacco farming with exaggerated economic benefits, and lobbying through agricultural front groups. Tobacco farming causes disease among the farmers themselves, and it is estimated that more than one million children work on tobacco farms, missing out on their chance for education.
50 cigarettes per day (?)
"Tobacco is not only a massive threat to food security, but to overall health, including that of tobacco farmers. Farmers are exposed to chemical pesticides, tobacco smoke and as much as 50 cigarettes* of nicotine, leading to diseases such as chronic lung disease and nicotine poisoning," says Dr. Rüdiger Krech, director of health promotion at WHO. Tobacco cultivation is a global problem. So far, the focus has been on Asia and South America, but the latest data show that tobacco companies are expanding into Africa. Since 2005, the area under tobacco cultivation in Africa has grown by nearly 20 percent.
* Editor's note: The WHO press release does not specify whether the figure is 50 cigarettes per day, week, month or year. Another WHO press release mentioned 50 cigarettes per day.
Award for farmer from Kenya because she no longer grows tobacco
WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are supporting the Tobacco Free Farms initiative, which will help more than 5,000 farmers in Kenya and Zambia grow sustainable food instead of tobacco. Each year on World No Tobacco Day, people who work to reduce tobacco use are honored. This year, one of the honorees, Ms. Sprina Robi Chacha, a farmer from Kenya, will be recognized for not only switching from tobacco farming to growing high-protein beans, but also training hundreds of other farmers how to do so to create a healthier community.
Improving food security
182 Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control have committed to "promote economically viable alternatives for tobacco workers and growers." A critical way for countries to meet this commitment is to end subsidies for tobacco farming and promote healthier farming practices. Growing food crops instead of tobacco prioritizes health, preserves ecosystems and improves food security.
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Resources on the topic
Top 50 countries of production for tobacco cultivation
More information from WHO on World No Tobacco Day 2023
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