Tobacco does not bring in more money than copper

Dear Editor,

MAY I be allowed to comment on recent media reports suggesting that tobacco brings in more money than copper. Yes, tobacco may bring in a lot of money but have you considered how much money it drains from the diseases that it causes?

Treatment of those diseases means spending more money on health, lack of productivity due to illness, loss of breadwinners due to death, etc, etc

For me, tobacco is a health hazard just as alcohol is.

If tobacco brings more forex from smokers why is Zambia so poor? The country can’t be rich from such evil businesses.

Again there is a vast difference between cultivating tobacco leaf and smoking a cigarette.

The Ministry of Health mandate is to safeguard the public’s health, this above all else, overrides any perceived economic benefits from tobacco, cultivated or consumed. Zambia exports over 90 percent of the leaf that is cultivated and imports 100 percent of cigarettes smoked.

The ministry is trying to control the increasing consumption of cigarettes because there is startling evidence to show that smoking is increasing among the youth from as young as 13 years! If this continues there will be a huge problem in the country in the next decade and more. And it will only get worse.

Secondly, the consultative process being talked about is a normal government process.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is a global treaty. It is a legally binding document that Zambia signed back in 2005. In it are specific requirements which Zambia, like the other 181 signatories to the FCTC, is required to adhere to. This is not a recommendation, it is a legal requirement. For this to happen in Zambia, there are internal processes that require the very consultative process to take place.

The Ministry of Health cannot just “wake up” and “decide” to do something without undergoing this consultative process.

It simply cannot happen. It would be rejected by all parties and would be outside the protocols set in place.

So, all relevant ministries are unlikely to be left out of the consultative process, including the Tobacco Board of Zambia, the Ministry of Commerce and Trade, Ministry of Finance and others.

Coming back to the main topic, I say no, tobacco DOES NOT bring in more forex than copper! A 2017 list of exports by value is as follows:

1. Copper: US$6.1 billion (75.7 percent of total exports)

2. Inorganic chemicals: $246 million (3 percent)

3. Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $157.4 million (1.9 percent)

4. Sugar, sugar confectionery: $136.8 million (1.7 percent)

5. Other base metals: $124.5 million (1.5 percent)

6. Books, newspapers, pictures: $120.6 million (1.5 percent)

7. Gems, precious metals: $101.6 million (1.3 percent)

8. Cereals: $99.4 million (1.2 percent)

9. Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $88.6 million (1.1 percent)

10. Machinery including computers: $79.7 million (1 percent)

There is plenty more to be said, but I will leave it there for now!