A Burn ing Question

By GUI GUI

Just imagine if, on a clear night, all the smokers around the world got together, lighting their cigarettesand blowing smoke out into the air. If you could look down from the sky at that moment, youwould see a spectacular Milky Way of 1.3 billion tiny, luminous spotlights – one for each smoker.Behind this man-made Milky Way is an enormous tobacco industry, contributing to the economiesof more than 150 countries and providing jobs for 100 million people around the world.In Africa, this industry plays an important role in many national economies. In Malawi, it employsat least 20 percent of the national labor force and contributes 6 percent of total GDP. In Zimbabwe,Africas largest tobacco producer, it accounts for more than half of agricultural exports, 30 percent oftotal exports and 10 percent of GDP.