Tobacco hurts more than just your lungs - it damages communities growing it

Green tobacco sickness is a form of nicotine poisoning that occurs when the tobacco leaves are wet and contact the skin

The Kipembawe Division is hidden in the southern highlands of south-west Tanzania, a long seven-hour drive north from the city of Mbeya. The scenery is stunning, yet when you look closer you can see that tobacco plants dominate agricultural areas, and the sound of trees being felled is a constant background noise.

Just the word “tobacco” conjures up vivid imagery of death and disease, as depicted on graphic cigarette packets and through hard-hitting anti-smoking campaigns. But tobacco’s impact starts long before it is found wrapped in a cigarette, and affects many more people than the estimated one billion