LAST year, 159 million kilogrammes (kg) of tobacco was produced by the Zimbabwean farmers with a target of 180 million pegged for 2014 season end.
Half of the country’s population directly or indirectly benefits from the golden leaf, said the Agriculture, Mechanisationn and Irrigation Development at the start of this tobacco season.
There are 88 000 tobacco farmers in the country as we speak and after a decade of economic meltdown tobacco has been the country’s beacon of fiscal hope.
Last week marked 26 years of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) lobby against tobacco use and promotion.
This year’s World No Tobacco Day (May 31) theme calls on countries worldwide to raise taxes on tobacco.
‘Reduce tobacco consumption save lives’ the WHO slogan said.
Under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), countries should implement tax and price policies on tobacco products as a way to reduce tobacco consumption.
Research shows that higher taxes are especially effective in reducing tobacco use among lower-income groups and in preventing young people from starting to smoke.
Tobacco kills nearly six million people each year, of whom more than 600 000 are non-smokers dying from inhaling second-hand smoke.
The health organisation and its partners have been pushing for the ban of the cash crop since 1988.
Each year on May 31 anti-tobbacco lobby groups together with WHO highlight the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocate for effective policies to reduce its consumption.
However, over the years, the move to ban the cash crop has been met with resistance.
For example in Zimbabwe, tobacco contributes 20 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The sector accounts for 40 percent of exports and supplies 63 percent of raw material for Agro industries.
Tobacco growers in Africa have accused the international health body of ignoring their plight should the cash crop that has become their livelihood be banned.
The ban itself in its 20 years has been met with a lot of resistance and no commitment from government bodies to put stricter measures.
For example, the Chinese people have the largest smoking population in the world.
They are the fuel of the tobacco industry, consuming a whopping 1,7 trillion cigarettes every year.
Tobacco revenues contribute about seven percent to China’s GDP which obviously affects the anti-smoking campaign.
However, activists believe the economic benefits tobacco brings cannot offset its consequences.
The effects of smoking cannot be underestimated as it is one of the leading causes of preventable death.
Scientists say there are over 4 000 compounds in cigarette smoke.
Tobacco smoke consists mainly of:
Nicotine – this is not carcinogenic (causing cancer).
However, it is highly addictive.
Smokers find it very hard to quit because they are hooked on the nicotine.
Nicotine is an extremely fast-acting drug.
It reaches the brain within 15 seconds of being inhaled.
If cigarettes and other tobacco products had no nicotine, the number of people who smoke every day would drop drastically.
Without nicotine, the tobacco industry would collapse.

Nicotine is used as a highly controlled insecticide.
Exposure to sufficient amounts can lead to vomiting, seizures, depression of the central nervous system, and growth retardation.
It can also undermine a foetus’ proper development in pregnant women
Carbon Monoxide – this is a poisonous gas.
It has no smell or taste.
The body finds it hard to differentiate carbon monoxide from oxygen and absorbs it into the bloodstream.
Faulty boilers emit dangerous carbon monoxide, as do car exhausts.
Apart from being lethal, carbon monoxide decreases muscle and heart function, it causes fatigue, weakness, and dizziness.
It is especially toxic for babies still in the womb, infants and individuals with heart or lung disease.
Tar – consists of several cancer-causing chemicals.
When a smoker inhales cigarette smoke, 70 percent of the tar remains in the lungs.
With such parallels existing in producing and not producing tobacco the future of the crop remains uncertain.