CTA says: it is a pity that the Hong Kong based company The Mekong Club has seemingly accepted PMI funding, giving credence to an industry whose products kill two in every three of its users
when used as directed by the manufacturers.
http://www.pmi.com/eng/about_us/corporate_contributions/Pages/Mekong_Club_PMI_Global_Partnership.aspx#
Meanwhile:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7891505/Suppliers-for-tobacco-company-Philip-Morris-used-child-labour.html
Suppliers for tobacco company Philip Morris used child labour
A report that cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc. bought tobacco from farms in Kazakhstan that used forced and child labour has prompted the tobacco company to change its policies.
http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-products/index-country.htm
Malawi
TOBACCO
There are reports that children in Malawi are forced to work producing tobacco. Tobacco estates are concentrated in the Mzimba, Kasungu, Mchinji and Mzimba districts. According to the most recently available data from the ILO and NGOs, over 70,000 children work on tobacco plantations, some of them under conditions of bonded labor. Families working on tobacco estates sometimes become bonded to their landlords, and their children are forced to work to repay their family debts. Landlords charge these tenant workers for costs such as rent, fertilizer, and seeds; these costs often exceed the profit earned from the tobacco harvest and result in debt for the worker and his or her family. Some children are also hired under deceptive terms of work and promised payment, and then are paid little, if at all, at the end of the season. Some children are forced to work long hours, including overtime, and are forced to perform dangerous tasks, such as carrying heavy loads and using pesticides. In addition, certain children work under threats and penalties including physical, verbal, and sexual abuse, and do not receive food or pay.