A new analysis by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that tobacco-leaf production in Africa increased by almost nine per cent between 2012 and 2024, despite a nearly 19 per cent decline in global production. The increase, according to the findings, is raising concerns about the health risks faced by tobacco farmers and workers, as well as the wider environmental and social consequences of tobacco cultivation.
Africa produced more than 639,000 tonnes of tobacco leaf in 2024, representing about 11 per cent of global tobacco-leaf production, the analysis noted. The findings showed that tobacco production is highly concentrated in five countries: Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique and Uganda. East Africa alone accounts for nearly 90 per cent of tobacco-leaf production on the continent.
Vinayak Prasad, head of the Tobacco Free Initiative at WHO, said tobacco farming exposes workers and their families to serious health risks, while also damaging the environment and potentially trapping farmers in cycles of debt. Mr Prasad said the issue extends beyond tobacco control and should also be viewed through the lens of health, trade, development and environmental sustainability. “This is not just a tobacco-control issue.
It is a health, trade, development and environmental issue,” he said. The analysis identified green tobacco sickness as one of the direct health risks faced by tobacco farmers. The condition occurs when nicotine from wet tobacco leaves is absorbed through the skin during handling. Farmers and other workers may also be exposed to pesticides and tobacco dust during cultivation and processing, the report noted.
Beyond direct exposure, tobacco farming also consumes large amounts of land, water and other natural resources that could otherwise support food production and sustainable livelihoods. The practice is also associated with soil degradation, deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions from the curing of tobacco leaves.