Imagine children, their hands raw and lungs burning, tending to fields of a product linked to countless illnesses. This isn't a dystopian future, but the harsh reality in the Lalmonirhat district of Bangladesh, where children are forced into hazardous labour in tobacco cultivation, causing irreparable damage to their health and future well-being. According to a recent report by this daily, as many as 30,000 low-income families in Rangpur are cultivating tobacco on 13,349 hectares of land, employing children and elderly members of their families to make ends meet and/or maximise profit.

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Cash crop or a curse?

Those involved in tobacco cultivation suffer from a range of health issues, including nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headaches and weakness, caused by green tobacco sickness (GTS), while pesticides used in tobacco cultivation can cause skin and eye irritation, nerve damage, and respiratory illness. Children report being chronically sick from the work—and missing school as a result—but having no choice but to continue the work as their families are in dire financial need. The silence of tobacco companies in the face of these documented health risks is deeply disturbing as well. Their focus on profit incentivises farmers, often trapped in poverty, to prioritise short-term gains over the health of their families and the environment.

Research published in 2021 found that farmers lose more than Tk 45,000 per acre by tobacco cultivation, with the loss amounting to Tk 77,411 if net environmental costs are included.

The pesticides and other toxic chemicals used in tobacco farming aren't just harmful to human health, they also contaminate the soil and water sources. This creates a vicious cycle, as the very land that sustains these communities becomes poisoned. Deforestation to make way for tobacco plantations further disrupts the delicate ecological balance, jeopardising biodiversity and long-term food security. Lured by tobacco companies, farmers in these impoverished regions engage in tobacco cultivation in hopes of profit, without fully comprehending the opportunity cost of such practices. Research published in 2021 found that farmers lose more than Tk 45,000 per acre by tobacco cultivation, with the loss amounting to Tk 77,411 if net environmental costs are included.

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Time to find better alternatives to tobacco farming

Efforts to mitigate the impact of tobacco cultivation must encompass both regulatory measures and grassroots initiatives. Raising awareness among farmers about the health hazards and providing alternative livelihood options are crucial steps towards breaking the cycle of dependency on tobacco farming. Government agencies, NGOs, and civil society must collaborate to enforce child labour laws and hold accountable those who exploit vulnerable populations for economic gain. Breaking the dependency on tobacco cultivation requires not just individual awareness, but a collective effort to prioritise human health and environmental sustainability over corporate profit. We must ensure that the fields that once yielded a product of disease no longer become breeding grounds for a silent epidemic threatening the well-being of our future generations.