Philip Morris International Inc., the world’s second-largest
buyer of tobacco, says It will no longer buy from anyone employing children
less than 18 years old.
It’s not clear what that could mean for Ontario’s
tobacco-farming families whose teenagers and their friends often work in the
fields.
The company says it will, in some circumstances, continue to
buy from those who employ teens to work at drying kilns and with seedlings.
In May, a Human Rights Watch report raised concerns about
children working on U.S. tobacco farms.
Nearly three-quarters of the children interviewed by the
group reported vomiting, nausea and headaches while working on tobacco farms.
Those symptoms are consistent with nicotine poisoning, often
called Green Tobacco Sickness, which occurs when workers absorb nicotine
through their skin while handling tobacco plants.
The report by the international rights group prompted
efforts from public health advocates and lawmakers to get children off tobacco
farms.
Two years ago, the Obama administration backed off a rule
that would have banned children from dangerous agriculture jobs.
Phlip Morris also announced Wednesday that it is partnering
with two U.S. tobacco leaf suppliers to buy its tobacco rather than working
directly with farmers.
It has made agreements with Virginia-based Universal Corp.
and North Carolina-based Alliance One International Inc. to help the company
"achieve important supply chain efficiencies while remaining a major
purchaser of U.S.-grown tobacco."
About 35 Richmond-based employees will be impacted by the
change which takes effect in April.
Philip Morris International, based in New York and
Switzerland, already works with Universal and Alliance One to purchase tobacco
all over the world.
According to its website, more than 70 per cent of Philip
Morris International's tobacco comes from Brazil, Turkey, the U.S., Malawi,
Indonesia, China, Argentina, Philippines, Mozambique and Tanzania.
Philip Morris International is second only to China National
Tobacco Corp. as a tobacco buyer.
Richmond-based Altria Group Inc., the owner of Philip Morris
USA, spun off Philip Morris International as a separate company in 2008. Altria
is the largest U.S. cigarette seller.
