Who's Standing up for Tobacco Farmers?

Source from:  The Woodstock Sentinel-Review Linda Duguay - RR 1, Allenford, Ont. 10/19/2005

Woodstock is in Oxford County, one of the few counties that grows tobacco in Canada. There is a need for this product obviously. There are smokers. Ignoring the farmers who are caught in the middle of the debate shows a complete lack of compassion by the newspaper for the families and friends and neighbours being devastated by these events. The Flue board was forced to accept lower tobacco prices and lower volumes this year, because of lower-priced imported tobacco and higher cigarette taxes. The amount of imported tobacco has risen to about 10 million pounds, from four million over the past five years. Rather than protecting the economy our government, with its ill conceived social engineering agenda is destroying farms and businesses, causing Ontario to become a "have not province." There is still at least 20 per cent of the Canadian population smoking, according to Stats Canada. Although it makes you wonder how many there really are, crime rates have increased, smuggled and contraband tobacco has become a big underground business. There are pesticides and different curing process in foreign tobacco, which may endanger the smokers. In other words there is a need for quality Ontario tobacco. "When you take $150,000 out of the cash flow of an individual (farmer) in three years' time, it hurts big time," Brian Edwards, president of Tobacco Farmers In Crisis, said in April. Since June OCAT (Ontario Coalition Against Tobacco) has asked people to "contact MPPs in your province/riding to ask that funding be restored to Health Canada's tobacco control program prior to funding being given to tobacco farmers." It's obvious that OCAT cares more about its continued government funding than reasonable legislation and supportive funding to productive, taxpaying farmers and citizens. It's also obvious the tobacco control extremists realize how much they are actually hurting people who just want to be able to live. Increased funding for their "charity" and its highly paid executives is obviously more important to them, than providing support for the farmers in your area who are being forced into bankruptcy. I agree with Nancy Daigneault of mychoice. We do need honest and factual information from both sides of the issue. The president of Action on Smoking and Health said in January that banning smoking in workplaces doesn't hurt businesses. "Five provinces and territories have already brought in universal smoking bans," he said. "The only industry that is affected by smoking bans is the tobacco industry." All of the evidence from areas already subject to smoking bans proves that the actual damage to the economy is widespread and negatively effects the jobs of people in many different walks of life. The damage to farmers is just the tip of the iceberg; we should all worry about. Enditem