Child labour in tobacco production: children's experiences and tobacco companies' corporate social responsibility initiatives

An estimated 78,000 children are working under hazardous conditions in tobacco production in Malawi. Without access to protective clothing or cleaning facilities, these children are suffering from the effects of pesticides, fertilizers and nicotine whilst working on tobacco farms for 12 hours a day. Two of the main multinational tobacco companies with production interests in Malawi, British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International, have responded to the public demand for ethical operating standards by developing business codes and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. This project, comparing the two tobacco companies' CSR initiatives with the lived experience of former child labourers in Malawi, shows that tobacco companies' statements of compliance with universal standards on health and safety and statements addressing the child labour issue have not translated into better child health outcomes.