Abstract
BackgroundIn order to provide evidence on health impacts of the tobacco industry on cultivators in Vietnam, this study aims to provide comparison between tobacco cultivation related revenue and expenditure in selected areas in rural Vietnam and examine the relationship between tobacco cultivation and self-reported illness in the study population.MethodsTwo tobacco farming communes and two non-tobacco farming communes were selected for this study. In each selected commune, 120 households were sampled using two-stage cluster sampling technique. Local health workers were recruited and trained to conduct household interviews using structured questionnaire.ResultsWhere the expenditure figures do not include personnel costs (as the farming work was almost always responsible by the family members themselves), it appeared that the average tobacco farmer did benefit financially from tobacco cultivation. However, if a personal opportunity cost was added to give a financial value to their labour, the profit from tobacco cultivation was seen to be minimal. The occurrences of 9 out of the 16 health problems were statistically significant higher among tobacco growing farmers compared to that among non-tobacco farmers. Tobacco farming was shown to be the second strong predictor of self-reported health problems among the farmer (after the effect of old age).ConclusionThe present study provides evidence that can be used to increase public awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco growing.
Highlights
In order to provide evidence on health impacts of the tobacco industry on cultivators in Vietnam, this study aims to provide comparison between tobacco cultivation related revenue and expenditure in selected areas in rural Vietnam and examine the relationship between tobacco cultivation and self-reported illness in the study population
There was no significant difference in demographic characteristics between the tobacco farmers and the non tobacco-farming ones (Table 2)
Where the expenditure figures do not include personnel costs, it appeared that the average tobacco farmer did benefit financially from tobacco cultivation
Summary
In order to provide evidence on health impacts of the tobacco industry on cultivators in Vietnam, this study aims to provide comparison between tobacco cultivation related revenue and expenditure in selected areas in rural Vietnam and examine the relationship between tobacco cultivation and self-reported illness in the study population. In search of even more profits, the tobacco industry has encouraged countries and farmers to grow more tobacco. Tobacco companies have promoted tobacco growing as a panacea, claiming that it will bring unparalleled prosperity to farmers, their communities, and their countries [1]. Viet Nam is a prime target for the tobacco industry: a developing country with a tropical climate appropriate for (page number not for citation purposes). BMC Public Health 2009, 9:24 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/9/24 tobacco cultivation, and hard-working laborers. The total area devoted to tobacco cultivation in Vietnam in 2002 was about 18,000 hectares (accounting for 0.28% of total agricultural land) which gave an output of about 27,400 tones of tobacco per year [2]. The number of full-time equivalent tobacco cultivators was about 136,000. The tobacco industry has established a plan to gradually increase domestic tobacco leaf production toward the year 2010 through increased production areas and improved yields [3]
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