A Brief Review of Tobacco Industry Activities in Ghana: A Focus on Employment

In Ghana, tobacco use kills over 6,000 people annually, with an associated economic burden equivalent of 0.2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Yet, the tobacco industry uses employment creation as one of the bases to prevent tobacco control measures such as tax and non-tax tools. Due to scant data on employment in the tobacco sector in Ghana, policymakers and advocates find it challenging countering industry arguments on employment in their quest to make informed decisions on tobacco control. This study attempted to provide some statistics on employment generated by the tobacco industry in Ghana using descriptive analysis of data from the World Bank, and both published and grey literature. We found that tobacco manufacturing employment declined by 83% between 1993 and 2006. However, the decline was compensated for by a 425% growth in manufacturing employment in other sectors during the period. Manufacturing employment has consistently increased even in the absence of tobacco manufacturing in Ghana after 2006. Tobacco farming employment declined by about 22.5% during 2005 – 2019, a decline compensated for by diversification and, in most cases, shifting to other crops such as garden eggs, pepper, among others. Tobacco sector employment constitutes only about 0.16% of the 11.2 million jobs in Ghana. We conclude that the decline in tobacco sector jobs in Ghana has been compensated for by employment growth in other sectors and diversification of portfolios. Therefore, the tobacco industry’s employment argument, as part of the SCARE tactics, should not prevent effective tobacco control measures in Ghana. In summary, decision-makers in Ghana must be aware of the tobacco industry SCARE tactics and seek regional and global support when designing policies to improve tobacco control in Ghana.