OP-EDS
Invest in our Case against tobacco giant
children and
their future
Caribbean Life, DECEMBER 6-12, 2019 11
But these professionals do more
than create healthier and happier
students. In some cases, they
make the difference between life and
death.
This is what happened to me.
As a teen dealing with depression
and feeling scared about coming out,
a guidance counselor helped me sort
through my feelings and gave me
the confidence to talk to my football
team.
I’m not sure what would have happened
if that guidance counselor
had said, ‘I don’t have time to talk
to you.’
I was lucky, but so many are not.
Suicide rates are too high, and students
are suffering. They need support.
This year, the Council heard
teachers, staff and students loud and
clear: our schools need more social
workers.
So we fought for and secured
$29.7 million to support 269 fulltime
social workers in schools, up
from 200 last year. This includes 100
Bridging the Gap social workers in
schools with the highest numbers of
students experiencing homelessness.
But our school system serves 1.1
million students, and they all would
benefit from having social workers.
An investment in our children’s
futures is an investment in the
future of our city. We are heading in
the right direction, but we absolutely
must do more.
Corey Johnson is the speaker of
the New York City Council.
Continued from Page 10
Small-scale tobacco farmers in
Indonesia told me they were too poor
to hire laborers, so their children often
helped in the fields.
Poverty has also fueled child labor
in tobacco farming in Zimbabwe,
where children work to raise money for
school fees or food. “I am looking for
money for survival,” one 16-year-old
tobacco worker told me. She earned
just $3 a day on tobacco farms.
Work in tobacco farming is especially
hazardous for children because
tobacco plants contain nicotine, which
can be absorbed through the skin and
cause acute nicotine poisoning. Many
child workers report nausea, vomiting,
headaches, or dizziness while they
work – all symptoms of the poisoning.
Child workers are also often exposed to
pesticides, and they work long hours
in extreme heat, sometimes using
dangerous tools or machinery.
For years, my colleagues and I have
been urging tobacco companies to
eradicate child labor in their global
supply chains. Though most companies
have policies against child labor,
none of them prohibit children from
all work handling tobacco—the best
policy for protecting children from
harm. And year after year, investigations
in the tobacco sector show persistent
problems with child labor.
Ending child labor requires action
by governments and companies to
provide children with quality education,
to enact strong child labor laws
and policies with serious monitoring
and inspection, and – crucially
– to address family poverty. In the
tobacco sector, that means companies
ensuring that the price they pay for
tobacco leaf lets workers and smallscale
tobacco farmers actually earn a
living wage.
After years of work on this issue,
I still can’t comprehend how – in
2019 – big tobacco companies can
profit without penalties from tobacco
produced by child workers who are
exhausted, overworked, falling behind
in school, and exposed to toxins that
could have lasting effects on their
brains and bodies.
That’s why news of the lawsuit gave
me hope. Though it could take years,
the case could force BAT to pay workers
and farmers fairly and finally eradicate
child labor in its supply chain.
Children shouldn’t need to sacrifice
their health and education to help
their families survive.
Continued from Page 10
NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson.
Donna F. Aceto
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