Further Protests Over Ingredients Proposal

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 10/26/2010

European tobacco farmers meeting at the 32nd UNITAB (the International Union of Tobacco Growers) Congress in Poland have called on the EU to back their farmers and oppose the World Health Organization's proposal to ban non-tobacco ingredients in cigarettes, according to a Business Wire story. In a resolution adopted by representatives of 90,000 farmers, UNITAB warned the EU that endorsing the WHO proposal could put about 70,000 farmers out of work with no improvement in public health whatsoever. Most tobacco farmers in the EU grow Burley and oriental tobacco that require non-tobacco ingredients to balance the taste of the blended cigarettes of which they are a part. Banning non-tobacco ingredients, as proposed under guidelines for articles 9 and 10 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), would see demand for Burley and oriental virtually disappear. Another set of FCTC recommendations, articles 17 and 18, are meant to provide viable alternatives to tobacco growing, but offer no feasible options for tobacco farmers. Enditem