The International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA) accuses the World Health Organization (WHO) of putting the livelihoods of millions of tobacco farmers at stake.

During its Annual General Meeting in Lexington, Kentucky, key representatives of tobacco farmer organizations from around the world started a petition which rejects several WHO guidelines. The guidelines would ban the use of ingredients used in tobacco products and reduce the tobacco planted area worldwide.
ITGA, which represents 30 million farmers world wide, argues that these measures will have disastrous social and economic consequences without making any difference to peoples’ health.
"The proposed regulation for 9, 10, 17 and 18 have been drafted by bureaucrats, mainly from the health sector, who know nothing about the realities of tobacco growing and who have showed nothing but contempt for the tens of millions of families whose livelihood depend on tobacco growing" says ITGA in its petition. The full version can be viewed at http://ingredientsban.tobaccoleaf.org/english/act-now.php.
The WHO has rejected ITGA’s request for a seat at the discussion tables, dismissing farmers as interferences. (pi)