Major players in the tobacco industry have stressed that the re-introduction of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) by the health sector to curb malaria would threaten tobacco sales.

This follows plans in 2006 by the Ministry of Health to bring back DDT, which is one of the known synthetic pesticides that halts the reproduction of mosquitoes which spread malaria.
During a media briefing in Salima, the executive director of the Agricultural Research and Extension Trust, Ibrahim Phiri, said chances for DDT contamination to tobacco remain very high in rural areas where tobacco is mostly grown. He added that sales of Malawi’s tobacco may be threatened if the country accepts DDT re-introduction as there would be scepticism on whether the leaf is pure.
The general manager of the Tobacco Control Commission (TCC), Godfrey Chapola, said that despite wide consultations, the government has not made a decision on whether to use the chemical. (pi)