The Daily Star - Tobacco expert says farming damages health - March 4, 2011

BEIRUT: An international tobacco control policy expert has warned of the effects of tobacco farming on farmers’ health and the environment and dismissed claims that tobacco production benefits the economy. Wardie Leppan dismissed claims by the tobacco companies that tobacco production has economic benefits during a recent seminar at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the American University of Beirut. He noted that research has shown that small-scale farmers “have complained bitterly about the negative health, environmental, social and economic impacts of tobacco farming,” adding that 64 percent of south Lebanon’s farmers are believed to store tobacco at home, which he said has grave consequences for their respiratory health. Leppan accused tobacco companies of using false arguments to push governments not to take measures aimed at reducing tobacco consumption, such as creating smoke-free workplaces and banning tobacco advertising. “Tobacco companies scare tactics are just that,” he said. –The Daily Star