Ihtiram Khattak, Fatima Mahmood, Saba Amjad
Introduction
Child labour is defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential, and their dignity, and that is harmful to their physical and mental development. (ILO, 2012). One of the most alarming sectors is the tobacco industry, where child labor is still an unfortunate reality.
Tobacco firms continue to trample on the rights of young, defenceless workers in emerging nations, despite international efforts to stop it. In this blog, we’ll look at the effects of child labor in the tobacco sector and expose the unethical business methods of the tobacco industry. LO estimates that 1.98 million children (aged between 5to 17) were engaged in tobacco farming in 2020 with roughly 1.3 million in Africa, 0.5 million in Asia, and 0.18 million in Americas in 2020.
Causes of Child Labor in Tobacco Farming
1. Poverty: Child labor may be used by poor families as a source of additional money. A lot of kids work to help provide for their basic requirements, such as food and shelter.
2. Lack of Education: Children in many tobacco-growing regions have few options other than working on farms due to the lack of access to high-quality education.
3. Demand for Cheap Labor: The tobacco industry’s need for cheap labor, which allows youngsters to be paid considerably less than adults, encourages child labor.
4. Seasonal Nature of Farming: As tobacco farming is seasonal, kids are frequently taken out of school to help during the busiest planting and harvesting times.
5. lack of well-monitored/well-enforced laws: The industry exploits the lack/week implementation of labour laws to the fullest, while still giving an impression of fighting child labour,.
Consequences for Child Laborers
Children who work as slaves in the tobacco industry suffer terrible physical, psychological, and social repercussions. Some examples of these effects are:
1. Health Risks: Child laborers are at great danger for nicotine intoxication and other health problems due to exposure to nicotine and potentially harmful pesticides.
2. Stunted Education: Working on tobacco plantations frequently results in missed classes, which keeps these kids in a cycle of poverty and offers them few opportunities.
3. Social Isolation: Due to the lengthy hours they put in, child laborers may experience social isolation, which impedes their social development.
4. Emotional Toll: Child laborers may suffer long-lasting emotional scars as a result of their exploitation and brutal working conditions.
The Impact on Children
Children who work in the tobacco industry suffer grave physical, emotional, and educational consequences. Many of these young laborers are required to work in the fields rather than in schools, which denies them the opportunity to pursue an education. Their extended working hours, exposure to dangerous chemicals, and lack of sufficient safety equipment cause a variety of health difficulties, such as nicotine poisoning, respiratory disorders, and skin ailments. Additionally, the difficult labor in the tobacco fields frequently keeps these kids in a cycle of poverty, giving them few chances for a better future.
Engaging in tobacco-related child labour places children at a heightened risk of various health issues, including cancer, tuberculosis, infertility, psychological imbalance, immune system dysfunction, and neurological damage. These risks arise from prolonged exposure to hazardous chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, fumigants, and growth inhibitors, resulting in severe health consequences. It also exposes them to Long-term malnutrition and infectious diseases given the insufficient nutrition and poor hygiene, attributable to a scarcity of proper food, clean water, and adequate sanitation facilities. Additionally, child labour within the tobacco industry elevates the likelihood of enduring prolonged musculoskeletal damage. This is attributed to repetitive strain injuries that lead to chronic pain, arthritis, muscle twitching, and deformities in bones. These issues stem from consistent heavy lifting and strenuous manual labour.
Unfair Practices of Tobacco Companies
Tobacco companies have been accused of perpetuating child labor through various unfair practices:
1. Supply Chain Complexity: The tobacco supply chain is intricate, with numerous intermediaries involved. This complexity makes it challenging for companies to trace the origin of their products and monitor labor conditions in the fields effectively.
2. Price Squeezing: Tobacco companies often exert pressure on farmers to reduce production costs, which can lead to lower wages for workers, including child laborers.
3. Lack of Oversight: Some companies have been criticized for failing to implement robust systems to prevent child labor and human rights abuses in their supply chains.
4. Perpetual financial dependency: One of the Industry’s tactics is to offer incentives, such as loans, to maintain farmers’ dependence, even though the actual prices or financial gains stay low. By encouraging tobacco production and hindering diversification strategies, the tobacco industry perpetuates a cycle of dependence for farmers on tobacco cultivation, while simultaneously keeping children engaged in labour on tobacco farms.
5. Lack of Collective bargaining on the farmers behalf: TI deny’s right to organize and refuses to accept Labour Unions as part of negotiation which further weakens the tobacco growers’ bargaining position.
Parts of Supply chain where Child labour in Tobacco occurs
Child labour mainly happens in the production stage of tobacco supply chain at Farmers/Growers location, at facilities for Leaf drying/processing, Leaf storage facilities and finally at Cigarette/tobacco product factories to produce finished tobacco products/cigarettes
Steps to Eliminate Child Labor
To create the appearance of combating child labour, multinational tobacco companies showcase their self-reporting system on agricultural practices and supply chain audits. The tobacco industry cannot be expected to implement voluntary due diligence practices within its supply chain. WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) emphasizes the need for strict government regulation of the industry. The convention asserts that the tobacco industry cannot be relied upon to engage in any form of self-regulation.
Despite recent advancements, child labour in the tobacco industry continues to be a problem. To combat this issue, several cigarette corporations have implemented stronger labor laws, carried out audits, and worked with NGOs and governments. However, there are still many obstacles to eliminating child labor from the tobacco supply chain, and the effectiveness of these interventions varies.
Countries with Prevalent Child Labor in Tobacco
Child labor in the tobacco industry is reported in several countries, including
1. Argentina
2. Bangladesh
3. Brazil
4. Cambodia
5. India
6. Indonesia
7. Kenya
8. Kyrgyz Republic
9. Lebanon
10. Malawi
11. Mexico
12. Mozambique
13. Nicaragua
14. Philippines
15. Tanzania
16. Uganda
17. Vietnam
18. Zambia
19. Zimbabwe
Conclusion
There are many risks that children who work in the tobacco industry must avoid. They frequently must work with harmful pesticides and herbicides without the proper safety equipment, endangering their health. Furthermore, children are exposed to dangerous levels of nicotine and other chemicals during the curing process, where tobacco leaves are dried in barns, which causes serious health issues like nicotine poisoning.
Child labour in the tobacco industry is a grave concern with far-reaching consequences for children’s well-being and future prospects. While some tobacco companies have initiated efforts to combat child labor in their supply chains, the problem persists due to complex supply chain structures, price pressures, conflicting interests and inadequate oversight. International collaboration, stricter regulations, and consumer awareness are crucial in the fight against child labor in the tobacco industry. Only through collective action can we hope to create a world where children are no longer subjected to the exploitative practices of this industry.
References
Sy, D. (2021) Industry brief June 15, 2021 the tobacco industry – stop. Available at: https://exposetobacco.org/wp-content/uploads/Child-Labor-Brief.pdf (Accessed: 22 November 2023).
International Labour Organization (ILO). (2012). Child labour: A global report (2012 – revised). Geneva: ILO.
Child Labour- Global Estimates 2020, Trends and the Road Forward. International Labour Office and United Nations Children’s Fund, New York (2021). License: CC BY 4.0. Available
at: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_797515.pdf
US Department of Labor, 2020 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.
