Tobacco Farmers in Crisis

Source from:  MONTREAL, /CNW Telbec/ 06/03/2005

Canadian governments undermining public health objectives by outsourcing domestic tobacco production needs to foreign countries. In its rush to regulate tobacco out of existence, Canada is increasingly regulating tobacco out of its control - and in the process actually lowering health protection standards in our country. Tomorrow (May 31), Federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh is scheduled to be the key note speaker at a breakfast event hosted by Canada's national health agencies - in celebration of World No-Tobacco Day. While health groups cite their determination to see Canada play a leadership role in the achievement of global tobacco control, little consideration is being given to the wider public health and social implications of tobacco production trends in our country. These emerging and dangerous trends undermine the very spirit of our domestic tobacco control strategies and the recently ratified World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Approximately 35 billion+ cigarettes will be sold in Canada this year. To manufacture these cigarettes will require approximately 68 million pounds of tobacco leaf - of which only 70% will be supplied by Canadian tobacco producers. In an attempt to retain market share and profitability, multi- national tobacco companies have been increasingly shifting their purchasing activities overseas (e.g. Brazil) these past few years. Beyond the immediate and grave economic consequences to our Canadian farmers, the increase use of foreign tobacco leaf in Canadian cigarettes is allowing for a cheaper tobacco product to be developed and sold on our market place, undermining Canada's own tobacco tax policies and minors' access initiatives. Value brands are approximately 17% cheaper than long established premium brands. In 2004, the average retail selling price of premium brand cigarettes in Canada (per pack of 20 cigarettes) was between $7.20 and $7.47 - while value brand cigarettes sold for between $5.96 and $6.22 (per pack of 20 cigarettes). Between 2002 and 2004, the value brand cigarette segment on our domestic market place increased from 8% to 45%. If trends continue, we can expect value brands to exceed half of our current domestic market within the coming year. In allowing our domestic production needs to be serviced by foreign markets, Canadian governments are also indirectly facilitating, if not encouraging economic dependency on tobacco in developing nations. As a result of less stringent regulations and tobacco control policies, Canadian government may also be potentially facilitating/contributing to child labor and deforestation in these countries. Closer to home, this outsourcing of Canada's tobacco production needs to other countries is directly undermining our control over both the quality and the price of tobacco products sold and consumed on our domestic marketplace. There has never been a more pressing and health-related need for Canadian governments to support Canadian tobacco farm families, allowing them to exclusively supply the existing Canadian market - until a comprehensive, equitable and orderly exit strategy for tobacco production in Canada (which would mirror actual declines in consumption) can be developed and delivered. Canadian governments, Canadian tobacco producers and the Canadian public health community must work together to re-assert and retain control over all tobacco production which supplies the still existing Canadian market. Enditem