Gustavo Capdevila
GENEVA, Feb 17 2006 (IPS) – Tobacco violates one of the fundamental rights of consumers: the right to safety, argues Muyunda Ililonga, executive secretary of the Zambia Consumers Association (ZACA), who pointed out that tobacco is the only consumer product that kills when used as directed.
Ililonga lamented that his country is not a party to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which has been signed by 168 nations and ratified by 124 in less than three years.
The treaty is aimed at curbing tobacco use by requiring countries to impose restrictions on tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion.
In an interview with IPS, Ililonga described the particular case of Zambia. While on one hand, the southern African nation has reasonable tobacco prevention control programmes in terms of restrictions on advertising, restrictions on smoking in public offices, schools, hospitals, and the public transport system, and restrictions on sponsorship and advertising, » the government has « good will towards tobacco production, » the activist told IPS.
Zambia has become a leading producer of tobacco. Outside of mining, and copper mining in particular, tobacco is now the country s biggest foreign exchange earner, Ililonga pointed out, saying production is nearing the levels seen in Malawi and Zimbabwe, Africa s two top tobacco exporters.
While agriculture as a whole is on the decline in Zimbabwe, Zambia s farm industry is growing as white farmers from the neighbouring country cross the border and invest in agriculture in Zambia.
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The exodus of white farmers from Zimbabwe was triggered by a government land resettlement programme aimed at redistributing property to poor and middle-income landless black farmers.
The farmers moving across the border from Zimbabwe are large landowners with years of experience in tobacco farming, said Ililonga, who noted that the Zambian government is encouraging them as it is keen on drawing foreign direct investment.
At the first conference of parties to the treaty, which ended Friday in Geneva, the signatory countries agreed to establish a permanent secretariat. They also discussed helping poor countries foot the bill of implementing the convention.
During the conference, which began on Feb. 6, a group of tobacco producing countries including Brazil, the world s top exporter, China, the leading producer, India, Malaysia, the Dominican Republic, Malawi and Zimbabwe started to study the possibility of implementing common policies to promote the replacement of tobacco with other crops.
Zambia did not form part of that group, although it should, according to Ililonga, who said it was a pity because the group is doing what Zambia should also be involved in, planning the future of the convention for tobacco control.
Tobacco use will cause some five million deaths this year worldwide, a figure that will have climbed to 10 million by 2030. And in 2030, 70 percent of tobacco-related deaths will occur in the developing world.
Ililonga said that although Zambia still has one of the lowest rates of tobacco consumptionàwe do not want to wait till our rates are as alarming as in the West, because our health care delivery system is inadequate to deal with tobacco-related diseases, which can be handled in Western nations that have more facilities. »
« For us prevention is urgent, » the activist stressed.
While acknowledging that the country s restrictions on tobacco advertising and smoking, which do not amount to a ban, are adequately enforced, he underlined that the tobacco convention presents an opportunity for the country to join the rest of the progressive world, to improve control laws and the enforcement regime. »
Ililonga also expressed frustration over a division between rich and poor countries on one of the key aspects of the treaty, which is funding for the effective implementation of the treaty, particularly in the developing world. »
While poor countries have proposed the creation of a basket of funds to help them meet their treaty obligations, similar to what the international community has done with respect to the AIDS epidemic and bird flu, the rich countries do not appear to be willing to provide the funds needed for technical and financial assistance, said the activist.