The World Health Organisation (WHO) Monday called on governments to stop subsidising tobacco farming and support more sustainable crops that could feed millions.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “Tobacco is responsible for 8 million deaths and governments across the world spend millions supporting tobacco farms.
“By choosing to grow food instead of tobacco, we prioritise health, preserve ecosystems, and strengthen food security for all.”
More than 300 million people globally are faced with acute food insecurity and more than 3 million hectares of land across more than 120 countries are used to grow deadly tobacco, even in countries where people are starving.
The new report of WHO states, “Grow food, not tobacco” and highlights the ills of tobacco growing 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 trapping farmers in a vicious cycle of debt, propagating tobacco growing by exaggerating its economic benefits and lobbying through farming front groups.
Tobacco farming causes diseases to the farmers themselves and more than 1 million child laborers are estimated to be working on tobacco farms, missing their opportunity for education.
Director of Health Promotion at the WHO, Dr Ruediger Krech said: “Tobacco is not only a massive threat to food insecurity, but health overall, including the health of tobacco farmers. Farmers are exposed to chemical pesticides, tobacco smoke and as much nicotine as found in 50 cigarettes – leading to illnesses like chronic lung conditions and nicotine poisoning,” he said.
