3 min read
Child Labor in Tobacco: The Hidden Cost of the Cigarette Supply Chain
Children work in tobacco farming across multiple countries—exposed to nicotine, pesticides, and hazardous labor. The child labor problem is well-documented and poorly addressed. The cigarette supply chain has a child labor problem.
In Malawi, children as young as five work in tobacco fields—handling leaves, applying pesticides, breathing tobacco dust. Green tobacco sickness—nicotine poisoning from skin absorption—affects children more severely than adults. **Child labor in tobacco is not a historical problem. It's a current reality—driven by poverty, the contractor system, and the absence of enforcement. The cigarette supply chain has a child labor problem, and the global community has largely looked away.**
