Appeal for Malawi Government to sign the FCTC

An appeal for Government to sign Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the unsustainable tobacco situation in Malawi

Smoke Free Malawi, is the project of the Youth Alliance in Social and Economic Development (YASED) which has been established to campaign and highlight the effects of smoking in public health and lobby for the signing of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control of the World Health Organisation.

The recent WHO survey, places Malawi among the top African countries where young people between the age of 12 and 18 are increasingly taking up smoking, a deliberate age group being targeted by Tobacco companies to sustain their industries.

At the height of the global economic crisis, tobacco companies are still registering huge profits, (Phillip Morris reported a 20 percent profits increase in October 2008) which is enough evidence that there has never been a dent in the industry despite increasing acknowledgement that Tobacco, is very hazardous to human health.

Malawi today stands as one of the largest producers of tobacco, though very little is there to show for it as most of its development, both infrastructural and human has come from donor assistance since independence.

Today, which is the World Health day, Smoke Free Malawi wishes to formally register its strong reservations to Government’s attitude towards the signing of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control almost six years since it came to effect.

The youth, women (especially pregnant women) and Children of the Malawi who are in excess of 70 percent of the population continue to be put at risk by Government’s inactiveness as smoking has economic, health, environmental and social risks which outweigh any economic gains that have been advanced so far.

The tale of tobacco and Malawi can be summarised in the following issues that we appeal His Excellency’s most urgent action to protect the lives of over 12.5 million Malawians who do not smoke but are exposed to cigarette smoking.


Through you your Excellency, please evaluate the following effects of smoking and tobacco growing which are relevant to Malawi and come without any prejudice to the social and economic development of the country.

Health

Tobacco smoking and to some extent growing affects the overall health of Malawians and Tobacco companies all over the World have agreed to place warnings (though in crafty manner) which is direct acknowledgement that it has health consequences both to smokers and those exposed to smoke.

Our fears your Excellency is that tobacco today risks reversing all investments and gains being made in the health sector will be easily reversed by the increases in tobacco smoking morbidity among the young people.

Cigarette actually contains over 4,000 chemicals 60 of which have been scientifically proven to be direct causers of cancer and other cardio vascular diseases. Among the health consequences smoking causes include:

1. Cancer

Malawi has seen a rapid increase of cancer cases and in most cases in tobacco growing districts where families have at least one smoker, either or processed or raw tobacco. Women and Children are particularly at risk of exposure as they are weak culturally to argue to contain smoking habits of their income earners. This leaves millions of wives and children to risk developing in their lives as they inhale secondary smoke, while millions of children will definitely be hooked to nicotine from the fumes making them smokers in their own right.
Public smoking which is tolerated in Malawi is not only a source of irritation, but a health risk to many hundreds more who travel by public transport, at bus stations, football stadiums and many more others.



2. Tuberculosis

There has been an increase in cases of TB in growing districts, which despite being a pure medical condition relates to the effects of smoking to the human lungs, both for smokers and second hand smoking.
Tobacco smoking worsens the condition of TB patients and accelerates death of individuals affected.
There is an urgent need for the incoming administration to put in place mechanism to curb smoking in public and effectively evaluate the real cases of TB as opposed to the current ones with the majority of patients coughing due to smoking.

3. Maternal and Child deaths

Exposures to fumes by pregnant mothers has been known to cause fatal effects and smoking, including second hand smoking has fatal effects on pregnant mothers and newly born babies.
Malawi has one of highest maternal death rates in the World, and for long time negligence of controlling public smoking, again the inequalities in families between wives and husbands and wives, all adds up the risks smoking pauses to Malawian women, especially in rural areas.

4. Malaria and use of DDT

The global ban of use of DDT and even the extensive ban that it cannot be used for preventive purposes due to Tobacco has placed lots of Malawians at the risk of dying from Malaria.
The Ministry of Health admits that the country is loosing 7,000 productive lives due to Malaria which consumes almost half of the country’s health budget and more importantly is a big drain to public resources.
Tobacco, to the contrast continues to enjoy special protection despite other well reasons that what could be saved from malaria, maternal deaths and weaker patients (morbidity due to smoke related diseases) can be make a difference to the lives and development of Malawi.

Human Rights

Section 12 of the Republican constitution expressively places authority in the hands of all Malawians. However smokers in the country who are even less than a percentage of the total population, placing their lives at risk when smoking is voluntary. Public smoking is a gross violation of the bill of rights as enshrined in the republican constitution.

Furthermore the authorities have allowed access to young children to cigarettes in all districts which violates the need to create safe spaces for young children as Government committed itself by signing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.




Economic

Tobacco growing has not improved the country’s economy. Over 45 years of independence the majority of the people who engage in tobacco economy remains poor and semi-slavery conditions exists.

Poverty

In low income earning families, smoking increases the burden to the families as

Women/Child slavery

Centre for Social Concern estimates that close to 500,000 productive Malawians work in Tobacco estates and received meagre US$200 for annual labour with landlords deducting food costs (an average 1 pail of maize bran –madeya_ for two weeks) at Estates.

The worst violations are women who assist their husbands and normally transport the seedlings, the tobacco leaf and process it using own hands and heads as carriers for no extra pay. They are included in the husbands pay.

Over 25,000 children in Estates drop out of school as parents (Tenants) seek extra hands to complete their manual labour. They live in poor built shacks, they are denied medical treatment and they have no any day off or holiday throughout the tobacco season.

Adding 500,000 tenants, it places close to 2.5 million people (women and children) directly into semi-slavery conditions which has been tolerated by Government since independence.

The tenancy bill has remained untabled and continues to gather dust at Capital Hill since 1997.

Government’s lip service to women empowerment is evident that while it has sought to boost its profile through high profile appointments, the real poor conditions exists among the rural poor who are engaged in modern day slavery.

Low Income levels versus national productivity

The continuing dependency on tobacco has not improved any sector, the tobacco workers remain the lowest paid, while they remain unprotected causing extra burden to Government to treat the patients that are being exposed by tobacco companies in processing plants to fumes from the crop.

Diversification

Tobacco companies continue to instil fear in the country that it can not diversify the economy and as a Nation Malawi seem to have fallen into the trap. Malawi remains the only economy strictly dependent on the crop. There is ample evidence that growing food crisis, shortage of raw materials and exploration of the mineral and tourism sectors could boost the country’s foreign earners base.
Currently while Government has subjected into resignation by allowing exploitation by tobacco farmers and labourers, evidence based programmes in soya, wheat, and maize production and further in fish and seed production have shown rural farmers earning 100 times more than what they produce in tobacco. Livestock production too has changed the lives of many farmers.
Malawi needs to start now to diversify the economy and move out of this york posed by tobacco production.

Environment


Today, Malawi complains of poor electricity generation, erratic rains and increase in warm weather related diseases. Tobacco growing districts have wiped out natural vegetation.
Trees have been cut down for curing, processing and growing tobacco, those plains of Kasungu and Dowa district lies empty with threats of poor rains being a daily occurrence.
Consequences of environmental degradation are fully acknowledged by Government’s appended signature to many conventions related to environmental management.


Social

Tobacco related diseases increase social disorders including poverty, inequalities and morbidity arising to sickness sends poor families deep into the poverty trap. The amounts of money spent on cigarettes, attending to sickness and time spent on managing the sick is more colossal and a big burden to the poor Malawians.
Children too continue to be hooked up by phungwe’s, uncontrolled cigarette sales, and uncontrolled smoking in public places.

As a nation, Malawi has come to agree that tobacco has brought more misery than joy and 45 years after independence the crop has failed to spur development as all our development budget is covered through taxes and donor support.

The prices this year, the global economic down turn and the benefits that the sector has not been able to bring forth, should spur immediate action of the Government of Malawi to sign the FCTC and as young people we shall continue to advocate for a smoke free Malawi until the rights of non-smokers, the poor and semi-enslaved women and Children have more recognition from a Government that claim to represent them.

Kondwani Bell Munthali
Acting Coordinator-Smoke Free Malawi
kmunthali@yahoo.com
premiermarket@ymail.com
www.tobaccofreemalawi.blogspot.com
+265 999 957 331 +265 995 505 020