Zambia awaits anti-smoking legislation

In late November 2019, Zambian Finance Minister Bwalya Ng'andu attended the inauguration of a new cigarette factory[1] in the economic zone south of the capital, Lusaka. Mr Ng'andu says this is the kind of investment Zambia is looking for because it would boost revenues and contribute to the economy. This is a very short-term vision because for the 75 jobs it will create in Zambia, the cost of tobacco use each year in the country is much higher. A recent study led by the United Nations Development Programme and the Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control shows that tobacco use causes 7,000 deaths annually and costs Zambians 1.21trn3t of their GDP. The study also suggests that investments to curb tobacco use - rather than encouraging it through increased cigarette production - will save more than 40,000 lives and $12.4 billion in health costs over the next 5 to 15 years.[2]. The Government of Zambia is in the midst of deliberations to adopt legislation to formally comply with the key provisions of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This is an incredible opportunity to promote public health in a country where the male prevalence has exploded in recent years, and tobacco-related illnesses and deaths are on the rise. One issue that has come under scrutiny from stakeholders is the economics of tobacco farming. The tobacco industry continues to argue that tobacco farming is economically lucrative. But in October 2019, researchers from the University of Zambia and the American Cancer Society published a second report[3] on the economics of tobacco farming in Zambia which clearly demonstrates that tobacco farming continues to be an economically challenging livelihood for the thousands of smallholder tobacco farmers involved. Furthermore, most of these farmers contract directly with the tobacco industry on terms that undermine their ability to be fairly paid for their hard work. Furthermore, many tobacco farmers continue to use child labour to produce tobacco leaves. In the survey, nearly 20% of households[4] of tobacco farmers reported using child labour, and half of these households admitted to keeping their children out of school so they could work in the tobacco fields. The gains Zambia can make from adopting and implementing tobacco reduction legislation are therefore significant. ©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] https://www.lusakatimes.com/2019/11/30/finance-minister-opens-a-cigarette-manufacturing-plant-in-lusaka/ [2] https://afrodemocracyjournal.com/2019/03/20/zambia-to-save-over-40000-lives-and-k12-4-billion-healthcare-costs-in-5-15-years-by-investing-in-fctc-tobacco-control/ [3] Labonté, Ronald & Zulu, Richard & Drope, Jeffrey & Kangwa, Evans. (2019). The Economics of Tobacco Farming in Zambia: Tobacco Farmers Survey Report 2019. [4] Ibid | ©National Committee Against Smoking |