By Chapala Chikoyi
In Zambia, the tobacco industry rarely presents itself as the problem. Instead, it presents itself as an investor, a development partner, a supporter of farmers, and a contributor to national revenue.
Yet beneath this carefully constructed image lies a consistent pattern of overt and covert manipulation designed to protect profits at the expense of public health.
Zambia ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2008. By doing so, the country committed itself to protecting public health policies from the commercial and vested interests of the tobacco industry. Article 5.3 of the Convention is clear: public health policies must be protected from tobacco industry interference.
This obligation matters because tobacco control and tobacco industry interests are fundamentally incompatible.Tobacco control seeks to reduce disease, death, and addiction. The tobacco industry survives by recruiting new smokers.
Overtly, the industry promotes development narratives. In Eastern and Central Zambia, contract farming schemes are presented as empowerment. Farmers receive inputs and a guaranteed market.
But monitoring often reveals debt cycles tied to input loans, limited pricing power for farmers, and discouraged to plant maize or crop diversification by narrative that from tobacco a farmer can have more money to buy food.
If I sell my one acre tobacco it is enough to buy maize for food and other domestic need,however,twist of fist the tobacco was not bought from the floor making most us stranded ,laments Masautso Phiri from Chipata.
And another female farmer says the labour involved in the tobacco growing is quite huge that she finds it hard to invest into other business ventures or agriculture activities.
Mrs.Chikondi Banda from Chief Chanje in Chipangali area who spoke to ZAMNAT through a Centre for Primary Care Research CPCR radio programme on Metro FM Zambia on alternative livelihood.
“Ever since stopped being trapped as contract tobacco farmer Iam able to do business and have just learnt to grow maize, sunflower and maybe in future try soya beans” said Mrs. Banda.
What appears to be empowerment can quickly become dependency.
Corporate Social Responsibility projects further polish the industry’s image. Boreholes are drilled. Schools are painted. Community events are sponsored.
While communities benefit in the short term, these initiatives also build influence and access to policymakers. They create goodwill that can soften regulatory discussions. CSR, in this context, functions as reputation management.
When stronger tobacco taxes or regulations are proposed, the industry shifts its messaging.
It warns of job losses, reduced revenue, and a surge in illicit trade. These economic alarmist arguments often dominate headlines. Yet global evidence shows that strong tobacco control measures increase long-term government revenue and significantly reduce health costs.
Covert strategies are more subtle. The industry may not always appear directly. Instead, it operates through business associations, farmer groups, commissioned research, or third-party voices that echo industry talking points. Policy debates are framed around economic survival rather than health protection.
The media plays a crucial role. It can amplify tobacco narratives or expose them. Opinion articles warning of economic collapse due to taxation and exaggerated claims about illicit trade can shape public perception. Without careful monitoring, these narratives become normalized.
Perhaps the most sophisticated tactic is psychological. The tobacco industry positions itself as part of the solution — a partner in fighting illicit trade, a responsible stakeholder, even a contributor to regulation. But an industry whose profits depend on addiction cannot be a credible public health partner.
Zambia’s 2008 commitment under the WHO FCTC was not symbolic. It was a promise to protect public health policies from commercial interference.
That promise requires vigilance, transparency, and consistent monitoring of tobacco industry activities.
The question we must ask is simple: can we fully protect public health while allowing the tobacco industry to shape policy conversations?The tobacco industry is not merely selling cigarettes. It is selling perception. And unless that
perception is challenged with evidence and courage, we risk negotiating with the very problem we are trying to solve.
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