The Attack on the Tobacco Farmer
Alright, guys. I’m going to get a little bit serious in this post, so if you’re looking for light-hearted reviews or another goofy article check out my other pages. I’m going to be talking about an issue I've found in my research on tobacco.
I am a cigarette smoker, and I know the health risks that come along with regular smoking, so please don’t try to sway me from my choice. While smoking a cigarette one day, I thought about the people that are behind the cigarette in my hand. My D.A.R.E. trained mind immediately snapped to big, dark, mysterious cigarette companies, but my research led me in a different direction. I found myself less interested in the cigarette manufacturers than the tobacco farmers themselves. Growing and harvesting tobacco is extremely difficult work that has not evolved much over the decades since cigarettes became popular in America. The work is very labor-intensive and done in some of the hottest months of the year. The tobacco farmer is a dedicated breed.
I know what you guys must be thinking: ‘tobacco is evil and poisonous and should be purged from civilization’, and you wouldn’t be alone. Many in the United States subscribe to the notion that tobacco and tobacco products have no place in our country, or anywhere, for that matter. This idea is not limited to America, of course. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, or FCTC for short, is an international gathering of over 170 countries including China, Germany, Japan, Norway, and the United States. Their agenda is one of a progressive phasing out of tobacco internationally. They advocate harsh regulations and taxes on tobacco farmers and manufacturers of tobacco products with subsidies for farmers willing to switch to food crops such as corn or wheat.
The representative from the United States signed this framework in 2004, and the treaty will soon be submitted to the Senate for ratification. If this legislation is ratified, tens of thousands of tobacco farmers will be victimized. While the treaty’s intentions are well natured, they forget about the harm done to the tobacco farmer in the process. Yes, they advocate switching from tobacco to other crops, but this is added almost as an after-thought. There is no real plan for switching over. I assume they believe tobacco farmers will simply stop buying tobacco seeds and start buying corn, or wheat, but I don’t think that’s how farming works. Different equipment will need to be purchased and new storage buildings will need to be built to house the new crop, not to mention the tobacco farmers in arid, less fertile environments that won’t nurture less hardy crops.
Many rural communities are sustained by their local tobacco farms, but these regulations and taxes would choke these towns until they are nothing but husks of their former selves. We cannot allow for such shoddy legislation to pass through our Senate with a stamp of approval. It must take into account the tobacco farmer before anything else.
Thank you guys for reading. I know I would have usually skipped over this post had this not been my page, but I appreciate your interest in a topic I find rather pressing.
I am a cigarette smoker, and I know the health risks that come along with regular smoking, so please don’t try to sway me from my choice. While smoking a cigarette one day, I thought about the people that are behind the cigarette in my hand. My D.A.R.E. trained mind immediately snapped to big, dark, mysterious cigarette companies, but my research led me in a different direction. I found myself less interested in the cigarette manufacturers than the tobacco farmers themselves. Growing and harvesting tobacco is extremely difficult work that has not evolved much over the decades since cigarettes became popular in America. The work is very labor-intensive and done in some of the hottest months of the year. The tobacco farmer is a dedicated breed.
I know what you guys must be thinking: ‘tobacco is evil and poisonous and should be purged from civilization’, and you wouldn’t be alone. Many in the United States subscribe to the notion that tobacco and tobacco products have no place in our country, or anywhere, for that matter. This idea is not limited to America, of course. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, or FCTC for short, is an international gathering of over 170 countries including China, Germany, Japan, Norway, and the United States. Their agenda is one of a progressive phasing out of tobacco internationally. They advocate harsh regulations and taxes on tobacco farmers and manufacturers of tobacco products with subsidies for farmers willing to switch to food crops such as corn or wheat.
The representative from the United States signed this framework in 2004, and the treaty will soon be submitted to the Senate for ratification. If this legislation is ratified, tens of thousands of tobacco farmers will be victimized. While the treaty’s intentions are well natured, they forget about the harm done to the tobacco farmer in the process. Yes, they advocate switching from tobacco to other crops, but this is added almost as an after-thought. There is no real plan for switching over. I assume they believe tobacco farmers will simply stop buying tobacco seeds and start buying corn, or wheat, but I don’t think that’s how farming works. Different equipment will need to be purchased and new storage buildings will need to be built to house the new crop, not to mention the tobacco farmers in arid, less fertile environments that won’t nurture less hardy crops.
Many rural communities are sustained by their local tobacco farms, but these regulations and taxes would choke these towns until they are nothing but husks of their former selves. We cannot allow for such shoddy legislation to pass through our Senate with a stamp of approval. It must take into account the tobacco farmer before anything else.
Thank you guys for reading. I know I would have usually skipped over this post had this not been my page, but I appreciate your interest in a topic I find rather pressing.