The bulk of the world’s tobacco is produced in low- and middle-income countries. In order to dissuade these countries from implementing policies aimed at curbing tobacco consumption (such as increased taxes, health warnings, advertising bans and smoke-free environments), the tobacco industry claims that tobacco farmers will be negatively affected and that no viable, sustainable alternatives exist. This book, based on original research from three continents, exposes the myths behind these claims.

Since there will be no major reduction in global demand for tobacco leaf in the short to medium term, manipulations of the tobacco industry are what really effect demand for tobacco leaf at the national level. Moreover, tobacco is not the most lucrative crop for small-scale farmers and it imposes serious negative socioeconomic, health and environmental impacts, and economically sustainable alternatives to tobacco exist.

This book counters the myths perpetuated by the industry by identifying the true drivers of demand for tobacco leaf, the sources of farmer vulnerability and dependency on tobacco production and the conditions needed for an economically sustainable transition.

Wardie Leppan is a Senior Program Specialist in the Non-communicable Disease Prevention program of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). He has been actively supporting research in the field of tobacco control at the IDRC since 1998.

Natacha Lecours is a Program Management Officer at the IDRC and member of the Non-communicable Disease Prevention program.

Daniel Buckles is an Independent Consultant and Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. He has published various books on the social and economic dimensions of agriculture.

Foreword by Ahmed Ogwell; Preface: Wardie Leppan and Natacha Lecours; Introduction: Separating Myth from Reality by Wardie Leppan, Natacha Lecours and Daniel Buckles; Section 1: The Determinants of Tobacco Leaf Demand; Chapter 1: Determinants and Likely Evolution of Global Tobacco Leaf Demandby Jad Chaaban; Chapter 2: Tobacco Leaf Farming in Lebanon: Why Marginalized Farmers Need a Better Option by Kanj Hamade; Chapter 3: ‘Gentlemen, Why Not Suppress the Prices?’: Global Leaf Companies Suppress Rural Livelihoods in Malawi by Marty Otañez and Laura Graen; Section 2: Farming Conditions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries; Chapter 4: The Harsh Realities of Tobacco Farming in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A review of the Socioeconomic, Health and Environmental Impacts by Natacha Lecours; Section 3: Economically Sustainable Alternatives to Tobacco; Chapter 5: Breaking the Dependency on Tobacco Production: Transition Strategies for Bangladesh by Farida Akhter, Daniel Buckles and Rafiqul Haque Tito; Chapter 6: Substituting Bamboo for Tobacco in South Nyanza Region, Kenya by Jacob K. Kibwage, Godfrey W. Netondo and Peter O. Magati; Chapter 7: Diversification Strategies for Tobacco Farmers: Lessons from Brazil by Guilherme Eidt Gonçalves de Almeida; Section 4: Conclusions: Reframing the Debate on Tobacco Control and Tobacco Farming by Daniel Buckles, Natacha Lecours and Wardie Leppan