Tobacco and Poverty: A Vicious Cycle

The result is a "vicious cycle" of tobacco and poverty, according to campaign materials released on World No Tobacco Day, May 31, by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

To drive the point home, PAHO produced a mock cigarette pack filled with miniature fact sheets of "unfiltered truths" about the hidden economic costs of tobacco.

PAHO Director Mirta Roses noted that myths propagated by tobacco companies are among the most serious obstacles to tobacco control. "The reality is that tobacco generates enormous economic and social costs," she said.

Contrary to industry claims that tobacco contributes to economic development, in fact tobacco cultivation and use cost the world economy some $200 billion per year, according to the World Bank. The overwhelming majority of profits in the industry go to large multinational companies, while many tobacco farmers find themselves poor and in debt.

Tobacco taxes do not come close to compensating for the costs of tobacco. Health care for tobacco-related diseases accounts for between 6 percent and 15 percent of all health costs in most countries.

In Chile, treatment for tobacco-related lung cancer accounts for 6 percent of total health care costs. Every year, the United States sees some $82 billion in lost productivity due to tobacco-related deaths, along with $76 billion in health care costs.

The burden of tobacco falls most heavily on the poor. They are more likely to smoke than better-off people and they spend a greater proportion of family income on the habit. In Mexico in 1998, the poorest 20 percent of households spent nearly 11 percent of their income on tobacco, while the richest 20 percent spent only 1.5 percent. The poor also have a greater chance of becoming ill and dying as a result of poor medical attention.

Tobacco farmers themselves suffer ill effects from tobacco, including diseases caused by the nicotine found in tobacco leaves and poisoning from pesticides, which also pollute land and water.

On May 21, 2003, the 192 Member States of WHO unanimously adopted the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the first world treaty on a public health topic and the first legal instrument designed to reduce deaths and diseases related to tobacco use.

By mid-June, 19 countries—including Mexico—had ratified the accord. PAHO has called on other signatory countries to do so as well.