Malawi child tobacco pickers being poisoned
Malawi child tobacco pickers being poisoned
Last Updated: Monday, August 24, 2009 | 9:12 AM ET
Child labourers who pick tobacco in Malawi are being poisoned by absorbing up to two cigarette packs’ worth of nicotine each day, a children’s rights organization said Monday in London.
Entitled Hard Work, Long Hours and Little Pay, the report from Plan International said workers absorb up to 54 milligrams a day of dissolved nicotine, which is equivalent to 50 cigarettes.
The “extremely high levels of nicotine poisoning” causes nausea, headaches, dizziness and difficulty in breathing, as well as “long-lasting changes in brain structure and function.”
Large-scale tobacco production has moved from the United States to developing countries like Malawi because of the availability of cheaper labour, the report said.
More than 78,000 children as young as 5 work up to 12 hours a day for less than 1.7 cents an hour and without protective clothing on tobacco estates across the southern African country.
Some symptoms among the child labourers may be caused by exposure to pesticides. Children interviewed for the report described sprinkling pesticide onto plants using cups and their bare hands.
The world’s giant tobacco companies, including Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco, said while they buy tobacco from Malawi, they reject the use of child labour.
Many Malawian families are so poor they send their children to work in the fields out of necessity, so Plan International is not calling for a ban on child labour.
However, it wants employers to provide protective clothing and other gear for the children to reduce exposure to nicotine.
