Abstract
Tobacco has been projected for its economic prosperity in Pakistan and many other developing countries while the opportunity cost of domestic labor, health issues and associated health cost related with tobacco farming are often overlooked. Various health conditions associated with tobacco farming result in catastrophic health expenditures which not only increase the chances of poverty head counts but also deepens it further. Taking into account the opportunity cost of domestic labor and health cost associated with tobacco induced illnesses obscure the tobacco prosperity rhetoric. This study examined effect of incremental health cost associated with tobacco farming on poverty head counts and severity. Using survey data from the tobacco producing districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, this study found that tobacco farmers experienced higher proportion of sever health hazards and illnesses like CVD and respiratory issues. The severe nature of ailments caused them higher share of out of pocket expenditures as compared to non-tobacco farmers and general population. Increase in health expenditures not only increased their poverty head counts by four and half percent but also severity of poverty worsened further by 8 percentage points using the Cost of Basic Needs (CBN) approach for measuring poverty. This study concludes that it is not only tobacco consumption associated with various health conditions but also tobacco farming. It is recommended that health cost associated with tobacco farming be considered both in setting up of minimum indicative prices for tobacco and consideration of health cost can be used as a tool against prosperity rhetoric which is used to block tobacco control policy.
Highlights
Tobacco industry has been promoting tobacco as a panacea for the economic distress of developing countries (Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, 2001)
This tendency has led to cultivation of tobacco on 10.5 million acre of land in almost 124 countries globally, mostly in the Lower Middle Income Countries (LMICs) like China, the leading producer followed by Brazil and India (FAOSTAT, 2013)
Using survey data from major tobacco producing districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan results of this study indicate that health costs produce more adverse effects on tobacco farmers compared to non-tobacco farmers
Summary
Tobacco industry has been promoting tobacco as a panacea for the economic distress of developing countries (Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, 2001). Country after country in developing world has been succumbing to this projection and viewed tobacco as panacea for alleviating poverty, unemployment and balance of payment problem (Tomson, et al, 2009; & Barraclough & Morrow, 2010). This tendency has led to cultivation of tobacco on 10.5 million acre of land in almost 124 countries globally, mostly in the Lower Middle Income Countries (LMICs) like China, the leading producer followed by Brazil and India (FAOSTAT, 2013). Tobacco contributed nearly 89 billion rupees to national treasury in the form of various taxes in 2013-14 (PTB, 2018)
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