Alleged Violations of Tobacco Control and Other Laws

Tobacco companies aggressively block, weaken, and undermine policies designed to protect public health and reduce tobacco use, and at times they may work outside of countries’ laws. In multiple cases tobacco companies have been found guilty of violating laws to ensure they are as profitable as possible.

In Indonesia, children as young as 6 years old were found, by the Guardian, working in tobacco fields that source tobacco for Japan Tobacco International. While Indonesian labor laws prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from performing hazardous work, in practice, especially in small-scale farming in Indonesia’s under-developed eastern regions, the laws are often poorly enforced and understood.

The five big transnational tobacco companies said child labor was unacceptable and that they were working hard to stop it happening in their supply chain. However, one source speaking to the Guardian stated that no one asks questions about the issue of children working in tobacco.