By celebrating World No Tobacco Day today, we can work together to promote a tobacco-free world, protect public health and support people on their journey to quit tobacco. So, can we “Be the change, stand up against tobacco!”

Today, tobacco cultivation and production exacerbate food insecurity. The campaign for 2023 places emphasis on the need to increase awareness about alternative crop production among farmers and encourage them to grow sustainable, nutritious crops. Are the governments globally really serious about their attempts to substitute tobacco farming with sustainable crops, thereby contributing to the global food crisis? Or it is that increasing revenues from the tobacco industry with increased consumption and marketing support governments.

Tobacco Kills printed on tobacco products packaging is right. It kills due to the increasing uncertainty of nutritional crops as tobacco growing and production exacerbate food insecurity.

Globally, conflicts and wars, climatic shocks, and the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have further worsened the food crisis, and tobacco growing further adds to the woes of food scarcity.
Some facts: As per the WHO, about 3.5 million hectares of land are converted every year for tobacco cultivation. Secondly, tobacco growing affects the soil, leading to deforestation of 200 000 hectares a year. Worsening this further is the extensive usage of pesticides and fertilisers to grow tobacco, leading to soil degradation and desertification. And, with soil fertility almost depleted with the cultivation of tobacco, the land is of no use for other crops, doubling up the food insecurity.

The profits made from tobacco and its marketing are immense, but at the expense of the damage done to sustainable food production. Developing countries, high population density countries and low and middle income countries are the ones who suffer and must act quickly before it is too late. Countries where tobacco is grown often face negative economic consequences due to the negative health, environmental and social impacts of tobacco cultivation. So WHO together with governments should take immediate action to reduce global tobacco use and reclaim land for food crops.

With UNSDG Goal 2 ‘Zero Hunger”, this goal can truly be achieved, as the cultivating nations worldwide are the underdeveloped or developing countries, which are low-income regions. This year’s WNTD campaign “We need food, not tobacco” highlights the urgent need to strengthen legislation, develop appropriate policies and strategies, and create market conditions for tobacco farmers to switch to growing food crops that would provide them and their families with an alternative means of cultivation for a better life.

The UN has already highlighted the urgent need to pay immediate attention to the deteriorating food situation in vulnerable regions and to take action to alleviate the impact of acute food insecurity and prevent a humanitarian disaster. A record 349 million people in 79 countries are affected by acute food insecurity, many of them in low- and middle-income countries.

Suresh Rathod

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It also urged people not to shun or judge those who are suffering from the infection, which has claimed 32 lives and affected 1,251 people in the country.

“If you know someone who might have the infection, tell them about precautions, and how to get medical assistance, if required,” the ministry said in its document ‘Minding our minds during the COVID-19 pandemic’, which was released on Tuesday.

The Union Health Ministry has maintained the virus is still in the local transmission stage in India and yet to move to the community transmission phase, the Supreme Court has cautioned that fear and panic are becoming a bigger problem than the corona virus. Italy, meanwhile, has extended an economically crippling lockdown until “at least” mid-April to stem corona virus infections that have claimed a world-leading 11,591 lives. In New York state, the death toll has crossed the 1,200 mark.

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that as of 11 am on Tuesday, there was no migrant workers on the road. “Over 22 lakh are being provided food. These are needy persons, migrants and daily wagers,” the SG said. and added that those still on the road were stopped and and moved to shelters.

Over 20,000 houses have been marked as ”home quarantine” by the Delhi government in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal said on Tuesday.

Taking to Twitter, the LG said the number of food distribution centres will also be increased to ensure social distancing in the national capital.

Baijal held a meeting with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev and Police Commissioner through video conference to discuss measures to combat Covid-19

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