Tobacco industry divides Zambian Government.

By Kalata news

LUSAKA December, 2024 – NO INDUSTRY turns tables within government like the tobacco industry and its issues.

Unlike other industries, the tobacco industry is both seen as both good and bad for the wellbeing of society and the nation.

To the ministry of health, the tobacco industry is seen as a villain whose activities are responsible for the many untold sufferings of Zambians currently hosted in chest clinics country-wide.

At the ministry of agriculture, the tobacco industry is one of the best performing agricultural sector whose activities have continued to create jobs, empower small scale farmers and create product that feeds into other agro-economic activities of the country.

Globally, Zambia is regarded as among the top five tobacco leaf growing countries in africa and accounted in 2012 for 9.7% of tobacco leaf production in africa, according to world health organisation (who) statistics.

Who however warns that the tobacco industry is responsible for sending to their early graves close to half of their customers and half of the bystanders present when tobacco products are being used.

“without adequate investment in tobacco control it is estimated that up to 1 billion people could die from tobacco-related diseases during this century alone,” warns the united nations development programme (undp) in their 13 sets of key actions for ministries of agriculture to take in advancing tobacco control and accelerate progress towards the sdgs.

 

Undp cajoles ministries of agriculture that they stand to benefit from tobacco control by transitioning tobacco farmers to sustainable farming alternatives which will lead to an increase in food security while minimizing environmental costs such as soil degradation, deforestation, biodiversity loss and water pollution.

Job creation

The tobacco industry is said to be one of the largest employers of small scale farmers and farms hands through-out the country – since the tobacco activities are labour intensive. As a result, no one is denied a job from both the old and young, weak or strong, educated or not. Everyone gets their share of work and earnings in the tobacco industry.

It is this aspect that makes government pause to interrupt the winning streaks of the tobacco industry.

A report by Dr Fastone Goma, the then dean of the school of medicine, university of Zambia (unza), reported that children were engaged in tobacco production activities on farms, with harvesting and weeding reported as the two most common activities. As one farmer explained, “the sort of work they [children] do is when you are harvesting, they’ll be there to pluck the leaves and put them into sacks…because we do not have the money to pay people to do some of the work we just given the children the work they are able to do,”

Dr.Goma and his team concludes that tobacco farming in Zambia for the small scale farmer is not an lucrative economic livelihood for most farmers.

“It appears to be particularly difficult for contract farmers – now the vast majority in Zambia – who enter into legal agreements that frequently may doom them to a cycle of perpetual debt and difficulty moving to a different pursuit that is healthier and more prosperous (agricultural or otherwise). Ironically, one of the reasons that farmers choose to contract is the perceived availability of credit (i.e., not needing cash to pay for inputs at the beginning of the season) and the certainty of being able to sell even, apparently, if it turns out that the terms of the sale are very poor. Of course, before signing the contract, there is no guarantee of even a minimum price. For most independent farmers, they are scratching out a living that is rarely better than other crops, often at the expense of their health and land since tobacco growing can cause green tobacco sickness,” says the report.

According to several addresses by the president of the tobacco association of Zambia Zvhikonyo Mahombe, echoing other tobacco industry experts, the tobacco industry has continued contributing to the increased the exports earnings of Zambia and job creation. Tobacco as a cash crop brings in money for all involved from the small scale farmer, tobacco agro-business and the Zambian government.

 

However, the ministry of health of Zambia stated in a 2019 report that: “tobacco represents only a small percentage of total agricultural products exported and employs only 0.5 percent of small and medium scale farmers” and that about “sixty percent of tobacco farmers in Zambia are considering switching to other crops”

 

Exports earnings

Tobacco farming is considered one of the most profitable agribusinesses in Zambia, with potential earnings of up to $6,000 per hectare according to

Zambia exports a significant amount of tobacco, with the majority of it going to China and other countries. In 2022, Zambia was the 18th largest exporter of raw tobacco in the world, exporting $169 million worth of the product. The top destinations for Zambia’s raw tobacco exports besides China were: South Africa, Equatorial Guinea and to European countries Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium

In 2023, Zambia exported about $128,603,020 worth of partly or wholly stemmed/stripped tobacco.

Zambia is also moving towards greater capacity for the processing of tobacco leaf and manufacturing of tobacco products as shown by British American tobacco Zambia and Roland imperial tobacco opening a cigarette-manufacturing facilities in the Lusaka multi-facility economic zone, whose capacity is said to be ‘producing more than 20 million cigarettes daily aimed at both the export and domestic markets.’

Bat stated “the factory now has an installed capacity to produce 21,000 cigarettes per minute, with a running time of 15 hours per day. The state of the art of machinery, sourced from the manufacturers of the best and robust cigarette manufacturing equipment in the world, has a capacity of seven billion cigarettes per annum.”

Taxation

According to a paper to ministry of health by Albertina Moraes, Zambia’s cigarette consumption is growing steadily fueled by adolescent smoking. Cigarette taxes dropped from 34% in 2008 to 27% in 2012, making cigarettes effectively more affordable. Increasing taxes effectively reduces smoking and generates revenue.

She argues tobacco taxation in Zambia currently, cigarettes taxation in Zambia is comprised of the following: • 25% import duty • excise tax (which is the greater tax (vat) of either an ad valorem tax or specific excise tax) • 16% value added an import duty of 25% is levied on imported cigarettes.

However, the import duty is not applicable if the cigarettes originate from a country who is part of the free trade area (fta) agreement with Zambia. Given that over 90% of Zambia’s imported cigarettes are sourced from Kenya, the import duty amount is effectively zero.

Furthermore, in stark contrast with the who recommended 75% tax share, in 2016 Zambia’s tax comprised only 37% of the retail price of cigarettes of the most popular brand, compared with the 56% global average.

 

Health costs.

In an effort to save lives, in 2018, the Zambian ministry of health along with other government agencies, came up with six suggestions that they say if implemented, could lead to saving more than 40,000 lives and millions in health expenditures in Zambia.

Thy selected the following six policies to be modelled.

• Increase tobacco taxation to reduce the affordability of tobacco products. (fctc article 6)
• Enforce bans on smoking in all public places to protect people from tobacco smoke. (fctc article 8)
• Mandate that tobacco products carry health warnings that cover 50 percent of the packaging. (fctc article 11)
• Implement plain packaging. (fctc article 11: guidelines for implementation)
• Institute mass media campaigns against tobacco use. (fctc article 12)
• Implement and enforce a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, sponsorship, and promotion. (fctc article 13) ¹⁰

Signatory to UN FCTC

Zambia signed the world health organization’s framework convention on tobacco control (fctc) on may 23 2008 and ratified the treaty, a legal action indicating a country’s consent to be bound by its terms.

Zambia tobacco and nicotine products control bill

The Zambia tobacco and nicotine products control bill was first drafted in 2010 but was deemed to require further revision and consultations during a “consensus building” process with stakeholders. But in 2018 it was redeveloped from a redrafting of the 2010 bill for fctc compliance.

 

On June 18,2019, as part of the consultation process, the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) presented a series of presentations to ministries opposing the measures proposed in the bill.

Laws and regulations relating to tobacco in Zambia date back to the tobacco levy (no 64 of 1967, amended to act no. 13 of 1994). In December 1992, the public health (tobacco) regulations (statutory instrument no. 163 of 1992) of the public health act (laws, volume xi. Cap.535) banned sales to minors under the age of 16, product giveaways and pro-tobacco advertising in the media. Further regulations included a ban on smoking in various public places (including government buildings, private worksites, educational facilities, healthcare facilities and public transport) and text-based tobacco labelling regulations of tobacco products.

Way forward

According to Dr Goma and his team, the results of their research unequivocally show that tobacco farmers demonstrate enormous resolve to work their land, often for almost unfathomable numbers of hours – imagine the rewards for both farmers and the Zambian economy more broadly if these herculean efforts were put towards healthier and more prosperous economic pursuits.

The tobacco industry needs to listen to their number one supporter, the farmer, and make sure that the farmer is happy to defend their industry hundred percent 24/7. When he farmer is happily putting in the hours he or she puts in and smiles all the way to the bank, the sector will be safe from any threats.

The second person they need to listen to is the ministry of health, the very people that ensure small scale farmers seeking health care medication under some cheap government schemes are helped and patched up to good health so they can return to work. The ministry of health has some suggestions that the industry scientists will do well to implement so the concerns of government and the who are dealt with.

Finally, the tobacco industry needs to expand its awareness and educational efforts through the media, schools and communities to ensure that the general public is assisted in making informed choices on the products that they consume. For those using tobacco products as raw materials also need education on how best they can utilize that cash crop.

The tobacco industry can learn from the gun industry on how they can utilise best practices in their campaigns. Best practices in the media, documenting efforts by both farmers and industry expert can lead to more farmers and tobacco users adopting friendlier and healthier ways of partaking in the centuries old tradition of growing and consuming tobacco products.