Africa’s tobacco output grows 9% despite global decline — WHO

Africa’s tobacco-leaf production rose by nearly nine per cent between 2012 and 2024, even as global output declined by about 19 per cent over the same period, the World Health Organisation has reported.

The WHO disclosed the figures in an analysis shared on X on Monday, warning that the continent’s growing dependence on tobacco was creating significant health, economic and environmental costs.

The report also found that Africa’s spending on imported cigarettes more than doubled during the period, increasing from $833 million to $1.77 billion.

The development means African countries are simultaneously producing and exporting more raw tobacco while spending substantially more to import finished cigarettes.

“This is not just a tobacco-control issue. It is a health, trade, development and environmental issue,” said Dr Vinayak Prasad, Head of the WHO Tobacco Free Initiative.

Africa produced more than 639,000 tonnes of tobacco leaves in 2024, accounting for about 11 per cent of global output, according to the analysis.

Production is heavily concentrated in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique and Uganda, with countries in East Africa responsible for almost 90 per cent of the continent’s tobacco-leaf production.

WHO said the expansion of tobacco cultivation was also placing pressure on land, water and other resources that could otherwise be used for food production and alternative livelihoods.

The health body linked tobacco farming to several environmental problems, including soil degradation, deforestation, pesticide exposure and greenhouse gas emissions generated during tobacco curing.

Farm workers also face occupational health risks, including green tobacco sickness, which results from nicotine entering the body through the skin when workers handle wet tobacco leaves. Exposure to pesticides and tobacco dust poses additional risks.

WHO further raised concerns over child labour in tobacco-growing communities, saying children from poor households in some low- and middle-income countries are sometimes withdrawn from school to work on farms and supplement household income.

The organisation also questioned the extent to which tobacco contributes to African economies, noting that tobacco-leaf exports account for more than one per cent of GDP in only a small number of countries, including Malawi and Zimbabwe.

“For most countries, the economic contribution of tobacco production and trade is limited, while the health, social and environmental costs remain substantial,” WHO said.

Prasad urged African countries to reduce their economic dependence on tobacco by supporting farmers and workers to move into alternative livelihoods.

“Countries need support to move away from economic dependence on a product that harms health, farmers and the environment,” he said.

He called for trade and development policies to be better aligned with public health and sustainable development objectives.

WHO urged governments to expand support for tobacco-growing communities seeking alternative sources of income, strengthen tobacco-control measures and address the economic and environmental consequences of tobacco production and consumption.

The organisation also pointed to Articles 17 and 18 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which encourage countries to promote economically viable alternatives for tobacco growers and workers while protecting human health and the environment.