WHO calls on Asian countries to quit tobacco farming

By: Sanjeet Bagcchi
[NEW DELHI] The World Health Organization (WHO) has asked countries in its Western Pacific
region to repeal subsidies on growing tobacco and, instead, promote the cultivation of sustainable
crops, including rice and vegetables.
About 400 million people in the Western Pacific region are smokers and three million a year die from
tobacco-related diseases, WHO figures show.

“Imagine if we used the same 1 million hectares to grow nutritious food. We could nourish
millions of people, help children grow and develop, and support adults to reach their full
potential.”
Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO acting regional director for the Western Pacific

The region covers several top tobacco-producing countries, including Cambodia, Japan, the
Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam, with over one million hectares of land dedicated to
tobacco farming.

“Imagine if we used the same one million hectares to grow nutritious food,” says Zsuzsanna Jakab,

WHO acting regional director for the Western Pacific.
“We could nourish millions of people, help children grow and develop, and support adults to reach
their full potential.”

Smoking tobacco is widely recognized as the leading risk factor for lung cancer. Cigarette smokers
are 15 to  30 times more likely to get lung cancer or die from the disease than non-smokers,
according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cigarette smoking also causes cancers of the mouth and throat, esophagus, stomach, colon, rectum,
liver, pancreas, larynx (voice box), trachea, bronchus, kidney, urinary bladder, and cervix as well as
acute myeloid leukemia.

WHO estimates that land devoted to tobacco farming in the Western Pacific could be repurposed to
grow about 60,000 tons of fruits and vegetables, which could meet the daily recommended needs of
over 400,000 people a year.
Alternatively, it could be used to grow 243,000 tons of rice, which could support three million people
per year and contribute to reducing food insecurity, the UN health agency suggests.
International tobacco companies active in Malaysia and the Philippines did not respond as of press
time to SciDev.Net’s queries regarding WHO’s calls for a reduction in tobacco farming in the Western
Pacific region.

All countries in the WHO Western Pacific region are parties to the WHO Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control adopted in 2003 by the World Health Assembly, which entered into force in 2005.
Under the treaty 180 countries are committed to promoting financially viable alternatives for tobacco
farmers and workers and ending subsidies to tobacco farming.

Anish Ray, a pediatric blood cancer specialist working at the Cook Children’s Medical Center, in
Texas, US, told SciDev.Net that the WHO move was very welcome but long overdue.
“It remains to be seen how world leaders choose to act upon this very important health initiative —
tobacco has been responsible for health hazards and loss of lives for centuries,” he said.