Scotland, Malawi and tobacco ingredients ban

According to this BBC report, tobacco farmers in Malawi could lose 60 to 90 per cent of their livelihoods, if an ingredients ban is implemented. The Scotland Malawi Partnership (whose website sports a thumbnail picture of Jack McConnell, former First Minster, whose main claim to fame was introducing the smoking ban) has operated since 2004, but it remains to be seen whether it will offer any support to Malawi in the defence of its tobacco growers. Working mostly with non-government organisations, it acknowledges that 'Malawians know best (a) ... (b) what challenges and issues there are in Malawian civil society; and (c) what mechanisms or interventions could help address these challenges'. Will this reasoning apply to anyone who wants to defend the tobacco plantations?

And does the Scotland Malawi Partnership make any attempt to work with official bodies that will represent the government viewpoint, as well as NGOs?

A quick look at the Scotland/Malawi links reveals a concern for child labour in Malawi's tobacco plantations, touched on here. This is a typical anti-smoking take on any tobacco industry: the fact is that child labour occurs everywhere and in any occupation in which children are vulnerable.  UNICEF tells us that one in six of the world's children is engaged in child labour, so talking of child labour as if it were specific to tobacco plantations is dishonest (or naive), but what is expected of reporters today. If it is common in Malawi, this is because of Malawi's heavy reliance on tobacco. Destroying Malawi's staple industry will do nothing for the welfare of its children.

So has Scotland any plans to address the issue of the tobacco industry in Malawi? Well, yes it has. Is it likely to help tobacco growers' interests? Probably not: the MSPs Michael Matheson (SNP) and Karen Gillon (Scottish Labour) have buried their differences to invite us to this meeting, both supporters of anti-smoking legislation. Speakers are Dr Jeff Collin and Dr Nathaniel Wander of Edinburgh University, both named as external co-workers of Professor Anna Gilmore.  It is hard to imagine that this meeting will agree to help Malawi to defend tobacco farmers against the ambitions of the global tobacco control community.