Abandoning tobacco farming for aquaculture

Sam Robi sprinkles feed on a pond and after a while, a school of fish scramble for it. He repeats the same procedure in four out of eight fishponds at his farm in Kuria West District. Besides the fingerlings, there are the bigger fish especially Tilapia, which he sells in the local market.

The cost of a piece of Tilapia in Kehancha market is Sh80. One pond, he said contains 200 tilapia and before December, he is optimistic of earning over Sh100,000 from the sale.
As the leading supplier of fingerlings within the district, he also sells each at Sh5 and in numerous occasions, he has sold up to 3,000 fingerlings. In a single pond, he grows over 1,000 fingerlings.
“This is a constant source of income, which I could not realise from tobacco growing, which I abandoned in 2003 and embraced fish farming,” he said.

Losses from tobacco

This came after he realised that the losses incurred from tobacco growing were a curse rather than a blessing.“The cost of fertiliser, herbicide and the felling of trees to dry tobacco leaves was slowly depleting the trees on my farm,” he said.

Besides this, he had to be on the farm all the time, which often required additional labour— he had to withdraw his children from school to work on the farm.

labour intensive

“Unlike tobacco farming, fish farming is not labour intensive. I need to feed them and maintain the pond,” said Robi.

The fish mature fast and ensure a steady supply to the market. One has to wait for ten months to realise the profits from tobacco.

Tobacco growing areas are also linked to the higher incidences of tobacco related diseases like cancer.

Mr Robi said he started fishfarming with Sh1,500 capital.“I dug a pond and sought the help of a government officer to supply me with the fingerlings. But after waiting for over one year, the fingerlings were yet to arrive at my farm,” he said.

It is then ActionAid, a non-government organisation working to alleviate poverty realised the need to supply him with 600 fingerlings for his three ponds so as to win him over from tobacco growing.
Fish is a key nutrient for the growth and development of children and with his family he is able to net one at any given moment.

During drought he, however, experiences shortage of the commodity as fish survives in water.

Tobacco compliance checks to run yearlong

Chippewa County retailers that sell tobacco products will be tested throughout the year for compliance with the state law that prohibits sales to people under age 18.
The Chippewa County Department of Public Health, in cooperation with local law enforcement, will be conducting the checks using a program called WI WINS. Trained 15-17 year olds will attempt to purchase tobacco products under adult supervision. Citations may be given to those who sell tobacco to the teens.
In 2009, six out of 69 Chippewa County retailers sold tobacco to minors during the WI WINS checks.

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Summary Box: British American Tobacco

THE RESULTS: The acquisition of Indonesia's Bentoel helped lift British American Tobacco PLC's first-half profit by 5 percent to 1.53 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) from 1.45 billion pounds. Revenue rose 8 percent to 7.3 billion pounds ($11.39 billion) as higher prices offset flat volume.

THE BRANDS: BAT makes Dunhill, Pall Mall, Lucky Strike, Kent and other brands. In the first six months of the year, Dunhill volume rose 21 percent, Pall Mall gained 7 percent, Lucky Strike rose 1 percent and Kent volume fell 4 percent.

THE OUTLOOK: The cigarette maker forecast solid growth in earnings and dividends.

Tobacco company earnings boosted by higher prices

Philip Morris International Inc (PM.N), which sells Marlboro cigarettes outside the United States and Reynolds American Inc (RAI.N), which sells Camel and other brands in the United States, posted higher-than-expected quarterly profits on Thursday and raised their 2010 earnings forecasts.

The results came a day after Philip Morris USA parent Altria Group Inc (MO.N) raised its forecast for the year after the 2010 first half was better than expected.

The tobacco companies' figures helped mitigate concerns that a large increase in the U.S. tax on tobacco last year and high global unemployment would force a switch by consumers to lower-priced smokes.

"This industry is all about pricing," Morningstar analyst Phil Gorham said. "They've still got very strong pricing power."

The one exception is in Western Europe, where Philip Morris saw a 6.2 percent drop in cigarette shipments due to a weak economy in Spain, a declining market in Germany and tax increases in Greece.

"Weakness in Western Europe was not very surprising," Gorham said. Places like Spain have very high unemployment and that killed demand, he said.

Still, Philip Morris is in many emerging markets where cigarette sales continue to grow and, unlike Altria and Reynolds, it is not exposed to the U.S. market, where smoking has declined steadily for years.

Philip Morris International, the world's largest non-state-controlled tobacco company, said profit was $1.98 billion, or $1.07 a share, in the second quarter, up from $1.55 billion, or 79 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average forecast 97 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 14.3 percent to $17.4 billion.

The company shipped 240.96 billion cigarettes in the quarter, up 8 percent from a year earlier. Part of the increase was fueled by customers stocking up in Japan ahead of a tax increase that takes effect October 1.

Higher prices helped lift the company's operating income by 15 percent, excluding the impact of currency fluctuations.

The company said it expects earnings of $3.75 to $3.85 a share for the year, compared with its forecast a month ago of $3.70 to $3.80.

Philip Morris shares were up $1.05 at $50.94 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Reynolds American said profit was $341 million, or $1.17 a share, in the second quarter, weighed down by plant-closing costs, compared with $377 million, or $1.29 a share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, earnings were $1.32 a share, 2 cents above the average analyst estimate.

Sales were little changed at $2.25 billion. In the 2009 second quarter, shipments were skewed higher by the timing of the U.S. tax increase.

The company shipped 20.3 billion cigarettes in the quarter, down 9.5 percent from a year earlier, but key brands Camel and Pall Mall both increased market share.

Reynolds also shipped 97.1 million cans of smokeless tobacco under brands like Grizzly and Kodiak.

Reynolds expects full-year earnings, excluding one-time items, of $4.90 to $5.05 a share, up from a previous forecast of $4.80 to $5. Analysts on average expect $4.92.

Reynolds shares were up 51 cents at $56.33. Altria was up 18 cents at $21.59.

Pharmacies shouldn't sell tobacco products

Tobacco use has a devastating effect on public health and well-being. It is our nation's number one cause of preventable death, claiming the lives of more than 440,000 people each year and costing the health care system close to $100 billion annually. In New York state alone, 25,000 adults will die from tobacco-related illness each year. Almost 389,000 kids currently living in New York will ultimately die from tobacco use if the current trend continues.

There is no question that tobacco use is detrimental to one's health. The fact has been common knowledge for years. Why, then, are tobacco products sold in pharmacies? The pharmacy is a place where people get the medications they need to improve their health, yet pharmacies also choose to promote the sale of debilitating tobacco products as well. One can often find nicotine replacement therapies such as nicotine patches, nicotine gum and nicotine lozenges sold alongside the very cigarettes responsible for the grim statistics cited above. Why not offer nicotine replacement therapy along with consultation with a pharmacist, without also promoting the use of tobacco products?

The next time you go to your pharmacy, take a look at the size of the cigarette display. It might surprise you given the presumed purpose of a pharmacy. Take a minute to really think about the contradictory message they are sending to our youth.

Retail locations with pharmacies should make the effort to move beyond these counterproductive retail practices and take tobacco products off their shelves.