Article Spotlight: Industry efforts to shape understanding of tobacco-attributable deforestation

Lee K, Carrillo Botero N, Novotny T. 'Manage and mitigate punitive regulatory measures, enhance the corporate image, influence public policy': industry efforts to shape understanding of tobacco-attributable deforestation Global Health. 2016 Sep 20;12(1):55-016-0192-6.

The percentage of deforestation caused by tobacco farming reached 4% globally by the early 2000s but was substantially higher in countries such as China (18 %), Zimbabwe (20 %), Malawi (26 %) and Bangladesh (>30 %). Transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) have argued that tobacco-attributable deforestation is not a serious problem, and that the industry has addressed the issue through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives such as reforestation. The authors reviewed the tobacco industry documents as well as the existing literature on tobacco and deforestation in order to understand how the industry framed this issue and sought to undermine economic policy: by emphasizing the benefits of production in low and middle income countries, by blaming alternative causes of deforestation, and claiming successful forestation efforts on their part.

• The WHO reported woodfuel curing requires one tree per 300 cigarettes. To counter these concerns, the industry initiated a "pro-active strategy" against "WHO’s propagandist views" focusing on "common interests" between the industry and farmers and claiming economic solidarity with tobacco farmers in the developing world.
  https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=xhlh0196
  https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=kghy0085


• The ITGA (International Tobacco Growers Association) published an editorial in its in-house journal, Tobacco Forum, which claimed there were many other industries responsible for this deforestation. It stated: "A lot of nonsense is promulgated about the use of wood by tobacco farmers. Typical of such misinformation, an article published in the UN Department of Information’s 'Development Forum'...claimed that 'perhaps one out of every eight trees worldwide is used for curing tobacco'. The fact is that the tobacco industry as a whole accounts for significantly less than 1 % of all wood consumed in the developing world, not all of which is used for curing. The tobacco industry is only one of many industries which use wood as fuel."
  https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=zjkn0198


• The industry rejected the idea that transnational tobacco company activities in developing nations were to blame for deforestation and instead blamed the lack of government action: "Where Third World governments have generally encouraged the development of tobacco, their forestry departments have often been slow to recognize the need for reforestation. Tobacco companies have, therefore, taken the initiative, encouraging farmers to plant trees either individually or on a cooperative basis, even providing free seedlings for both depleted forestland and new land..."
  https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=yrfv0037


• The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control's Alliance Bulletin in 2001 reports: "In Uganda, BAT has been planting the fast growing eucalyptus trees to replace depleted indigenous species like the shea butter tree whose oil is used in cooking in many parts of Northern Uganda. The eucalyptus is an anti-social thirsty tree. Its fast growth rate places a great demand on the soil water and nutrients, while its fallen leaves contain chemicals that discourage the growth of other vegetation near the tree"
  https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=ltlj0054