Bureaucrats look to dictate the seasons when tobacco can and cannot be grown

Tobacco growers belonging to the Philippine Tobacco Growers Association (PTGA) are urging President Aquino not to agree to proposed guidelines of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

PTGA vice president, Asuncion M. Lopez, said the proposed guidelines that had been recommended for adoption by the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the FCTC would “devastate” the livelihoods of tobacco farmers.

The fifth session of the CoP is due to be held atSeoul,South   Korea, starting on November 12.

“Bureaucrats with no real farming experience are actually trying to mandate the seasons when tobacco can and cannot be grown,” said Lopez during the media launch of the ‘Save our Farms’ campaign, which was held in Manilaon Tuesday.

The campaign is being spearheaded by theAsiachapter of the International Tobacco Growers’ Association (ITGA).

Lopez, who is also a spokesperson for the ITGA, said the proposed guidelines, relating to Articles 17 and 18 of the FCTC, represented a real threat for tobacco- producing communities,” said Lopez, who is also a spokesperson for the ITGA.

The PTGA estimates that about 2.7 million people depend on the local tobacco industry.