Introduction

India
The Indus Valley civilization, India's earliest known civilization (2500-1700 BC), is identified by
its interesting culture as well as its artifacts. The strength and basis of Hinduism is attributed to
the Vedic culture (about 1500), as well as the origin of the caste system. India has had many
different influences throughout its history due to the migration, invasion or expansion of other
nations. Some of these nations or people who influenced India include the Mongols (under the
direction of Genghis Khan), the Greeks (Alexander the Great), and the British.
India was a wealthy country, economically and culturally up until British
colonization. Europeans would trade with India for spices or cotton textiles, but when the
British colonized the country the economy declined. This was due in part to exploitation and
destruction of India's industries and wealth. Eventually, India would be granted its
independence again in 1947, after which a slow progression has been seen in its development.
Present-day India has made significant headway in large-scale industrialization. As a result,
India has become one of the top five industrialized nations of the world. It produces every
conceivable industrial item and consumer goods, and has achieved significant success in
frontier scientific research including peaceful application of nuclear energy, space and satellite
research, communication technology and biotechnology. India also has the third largest
reservoir of scientific and technological manpower. Pioneering scientists such as Nobel laureate
C. V. Raman, Homi Bhaba, J.C.Bose, Satyen Bose, Nobel laureates Hargovind Khorana and S.
Chandrasekhar have won laurels for India both at home and abroad.
Historically India is an ancient land with a continuous civilization of 5000 years. The Indus valley
civilisation (3000 BC to 1500 BC) was followed by the Sanskrit-speaking Vedic period (1500 BC
to 500 BC). The first of the Indian empires, the Mauryan empire began shortly after
Chandragupta Maurya (274-237 BC). The post-Asoka empires were followed by empires of the
Gupta, Pratihara, Pala, Chalukya, Chola, Pandya dynasties. Subsequently, around the 9th
century, the Muslim period was established followed by the arrival of the Europeans, mostly
British in the 17th century.On August 15, 1947 India attained independence. It adopted a
parliamentary system of government with a union of states proclaiming itself to be a Sovereign
Democratic Republic. The country has been divided into 25 States and 7 Union Territories. The
States have considerable autonomy of their own while the Union Territories are governed by
the President through appointed administrators. At the village level one finds the system of
Panchayati Raj.

It is a pattern of self-government that oversees the planning and execution of projects in

district, block and village levels. Adult suffrage is universal. India's national flag is a horizontal
tri-color of deep saffron at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal
proportion. In the center of the white band is a wheel, which appears on the abacus of the
Sarnath Lion seal of Asoka.
National Tobacco Administration (Philippine)
Tobacco is a unique plant for several reasons. First, it has penetrated the economic and political
systems in the country so as to warrant policy considerations as well as legislative interventions
through the years. Second, among the non-food crops, tobacco is the most widely grown
commercially, thus, contributing a sizable amount to the economy. Third, it has spurred wide
scale controversy about its use which, nevertheless, has not decreased but rather has steadily
increased despite the warning that consuming it in any form is dangerous to one's health.
Finally, while it is pinpointed as cancer causing, it is considered by many as panacea for many
ailments. It may yet be the plant of manifold uses as research continues to discover industrial and
pharmaceutical products from the leaves as well as from its by-products.
For four decades now, tobacco continues to dominate the agricultural, economic, social and
political life in the regions growing it. The tobacco industry is a major force in the development of
these areas especially Region I where the flue-cured or Virginia tobacco is grown.

Tobacco has been found by some studies to have raised the income levels and equalized
income distribution in the communities growing it. Consequently, social and structural changes
occurred and became evident in these areas.
Tobacco Finds its Way to the Philippines
The Tobacco plant circled the globe before it finally reached the Philippines. Columbus first
noticed Arawak Indians in 1492 to be smoking the dried leaves of a peculiar plant - tobacco.
Seven years later, Amerigo Vespucci visited an island near Venezuela and noted that the
inhabitants were chewing dried leaves. When the Spaniards invaded Mexico in 1519, they
found that the people were already growing tobacco at an advanced stage. It was figured out
that the seafaring Spaniards and Portuguese introduced tobacco to mainland Europe, East
Indies and Asia as they went searching for spices and converting people to Christianity.
The Spanish galleons were laden with treasures and curios of all kinds from the New World,
among which were tobacco seeds. Through the colonizers, the use of tobacco was introduced
into most of the civilized world by the end of the 16th century. Soon, there were more people
converted to smoking than to Christianity.

Meanwhile, the Spaniards experimented on the cultivation of tobacco in the places they
colonized. In the Philippines, the Augustinian friars brought 6.2189 kilograms of cigar tobacco
seeds in the last quarter of the 16th century. Among the major commodities in the galleon
trade was tobacco.
In this plant, Spaniards saw the potential of becoming rich while gaining big income for Spain. It
could also provide big revenue to the Spanish government in the Philippines. The colonizers
toyed with the idea to commercialize the growing of tobacco and establish the tobacco
monopoly to assure the Spanish government of bigger revenue on a sustained basis. It could
also be a means of catering to the demands for tobacco by Spain and other foreign countries
and thus, the establishment of the tobacco monopoly in the Philippines.
The Spaniards' attention, therefore, was divided between tobacco growing and the introduction
of the Christian faith to the Filipinos.
The Tobacco Monopoly
Tobacco as smoke and snuff became very popular to the Spaniards, other foreigners in the
Philippines and Filipinos alike but the colonial government only learned to exploit its popularity
in the latter part of the 18th century. The actual establishment of the Tobacco Monopoly in
1782 came only after considerable prodding from the metropolitan government. It was an
answer for the need to raise money to defend the island from Muslim warriors who lived in the
unconquered part of the Philippines.
The Filipinos, especially those in the Ilocos Region and in Cagayan Valley, were forced to plant
tobacco. Each farmer had a quota to produce. At the start, the farmer were treated fairly and
got the right price for their produce. But in the end, the Filipinos abhorred tobacco not because
of the difficulty in growing it but due to the abuses committed by the Spaniards as they forced
the Filipinos to grow this crop. The tobacco monopoly was a source of misunderstanding even
at the start. Initially, the scope of the monopoly's operations was limited to Manila and the
eight central provinces of Luzon, namely, Tondo, Cavite, Bantangas, Tayabas, Laguna,
Pampanga, Bataan and Bulacan.
To soften the impact of the monopoly as a radical and burdensome measure, tobacco
production was linked to the program on economic development of the country. Those who
were permitted to raise tobacco were promised prompt and adequate payment for their
produce.
Tobacco was grown on small plots by individual farmers instead of on a plantation wherein the
government would have complete control of the operations. The government, therefore, had
to negotiate with individual farmers, thus, involving hundreds of separate contracts and the
need for more people to implement the activity.

A collector was contracted to collect the leaves from all the tobacco areas. In effect, these
collectors served as middlemen between the government and the farmers, so the difference
between what the government gave them to pay the farmers and what they actually paid the
farmers was theirs. The collection of leaves was placed under direct government administration
after many complaints. This gave the farmers better terms like fair treatment and the correct
prices.
The monopoly heightened the exploitation of the Filipinos under the pretext of religion and
obedience to the Spanish crown as it also aroused hostility among the people. Since the
monopoly created many problems among the Spanish officials and the people, there were
proposals to abolish it and let the Filipinos pay double tribute. There could be alternative crops
to grow and the hatred toward the Spaniards could be lessened.
In the end, the monopoly did not only force the people, especially those from the north and
Cagayan to grow tobacco, but compelled them to produce more then what their piece of land
could yield. The collection of the produce alone turned the Filipinos into animals under the pain
of 25 blows if they did not comply to transport the produce on their back.
Tobacco smuggling, banditry and injustice in the administration of the monopoly as well as
declining income led to its abolition in 1882. Being forced to raise the crop was abandoned,
except those grown for home consumption by those who learned to smoke, but the knowledge
in growing it remained.
Reintroduction of Tobacco
The habit of smoking, sniffing or chewing tobacco and the knowledge to grow the crop
remained with the Filipinos. It became part of their cultural heritage. Unlike in the days of the
monopoly, however, the crop was grown as the people wished it. A proof of the continued
growing of the crop was the Tobacco Inspection Law enacted on February 4, 1916. This law was
enacted to improve the methods of production and the quality of tobacco in the country and at
the same time developed an export trade. The then Bureau of Agriculture was instructed to
purchase seeds of well-developed tobacco plants, have the seeds to pass through a cleaning
machine and distribute free to the growers. It was then unlawful for any tobacco producer to
cure, dry, ferment or treat the leaves in any building other than the curing shed built under
specifications of the BA. The Director of Forestry was instructed to give license to any producer
of tobacco to cut first class timber for the construction of curing warehouses.Moreover, to
encourage the farmers to produce the best leaves, they were awarded diplomas for excellence
in tobacco production.
Inspection fees were collected and these were accumulated into the Inspection Fund, of which
30% was spent in the establishment and maintenance of tobacco experimental farms.

Tobacco Types Grown

During the 100-year regime of the tobacco monopoly, the country grew sun-cured and aircured wrapper in addition to filler tobacco. New cigar types, especially from seeds originating
from the United States and the Netherlands East Indies, were introduced and grown
successfully. Other tobacco types, especially for the manufacture of cigarettes, were grown
from seeds produced in the United States, Turkey, and Russia (Foreign Agricultural Report,
1952). In 1927, the Virginia or flue-cured tobacco was test-planted at the Ilagan Agricultural
Station in Isabela for adaptability to soil and climate conditions (Rabe, 1983). In 1942, Japan
sent a team to analyze the soil, climate, rainfall and weather conditions in La Union, one of the
four Ilocos provinces in northwestern Luzon, for potential tobacco growing areas with the hope
that the Philippines would eventually become one of its territories.The team found the
conditions in La Union similar to the areas planted to flue-cured tobacco in Japan. (Duldulao,
1985)
During World War II, the Japanese grew small quantities of flue-cured tobacco from seeds
produced in Japan and Formosa, now Taiwan. The best flue-cured tobacco ever produced
commercially in the Philippines was grown during the 1949-1950 season. Attempts to grow
Burley were not yet success- ful. However, small quantities of this type and Oriental tobacco
were already tried. The Need to Grow TobaccoTobacco has always been of great importance to
the economy of the Philippines. The pattern of the country's tobacco industry since the
outbreak of World War II changed tremendously with exports greatly reduced and imports
increasing greatly. The Philippines exported 3,674,136 kg. of unmanufactured tobacco in 1950
compared to the pre-war years' (1935-1949) annual average of 16,919,169 kg. The same is true
with cigar with an all-time low export of 2.1 million pieces in 1950 compared with the pre-war
average of 202 million pieces. Only 14,000 pieces of cigarettes were exported in 1950
compared to 37.3 million in pre-war years. The reduction in exports was attributed mainly to
the closing of European markets during the war, the shift in consumer preference from cigar to
cigarettes and the shortage of foreign exchange. (Food Agriculture Report, 1952). Before World
War II, the Philippines exported unmanufactured tobacco mainly to Spain, the Netherlands,
Italy, Korea and Japan. Some shipments were also made to French Africa, the United States,
China, Belgium and the French East Indies. The United States, on the other hand, was the only
source of blending tobacco for the country's cigarette factories.
Manila was the center of the tobacco manufacturing industry in the Philippines. In June 1951,
there were 51 government-licensed cigarette factories, ten of which produced 75% of the
country's machine-made cigarettes. The 25% were provided by a licensed factory in Cebu and
many secretly operating factories scattered throughout the country. The cigar products were
mostly man-made but were considered of excellent quality.

The chewing and smoking tobacco products were substantial while snuff tobacco was
insignificant (Foreign Agriculture Report, 1952).
In 1952, Republic Act 698 was enacted to limit the importation of Virginia tobacco. This allowed
all locally grown and produced Virginia tobacco to be purchased by the government. It also
fixed the price for both flue-cured and sun-dried Virginia leaf tobacco.
The Philippine Tobacco administration (PTA) was mandated to assist the Agricultural Credit
Cooperative and Financing Administration (ACCFA) in purchasing the leaves.Harry Stonehill, a
retired United States Army Lieutenant, brought in tobacco seeds from America. He printed
manuals on how to flue-cure tobacco leaves, and, together with the seeds, distributed them
free to the farmers of Ilocos Sur, Abra and Ilocos Norte. He built flue-curing barns in Agoo and
San Juan, La Union and in Sta. Barbara, and Jan Jacinto, Pangasinan. He established the
Philippine Tobacco Flue-Curing and Redrying Corporation (PTFCRC). Together with John Witney,
a tobacco expert, and Peter Lim, a businessman, Stonehill pioneered in the Virginia tobacco
industry (Duldulao, 1985).
National Tobacco Control progamme (India)
Tobacco use is one of the main risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including cancer, lung
diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. India is the 2nd largest producer and consumer of tobacco
and a variety of forms of tobacco use is unique to India. Apart from the smoked forms that include
cigarettes, bidis and cigars, a plethora of smokeless forms of consumption exist in the country.
The Government of India has enacted the national tobacco-control legislation namely, The
Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and
Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 in May, 2003. India also ratified the
WHO-Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) in February2004. Further, in order
to facilitate the effective implementation of the Tobacco Control Law, to bring about greater
awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco as well as to fulfill the obligations under the WHOFCTC, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India launched the National
Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) in 2007- 08 in 42 districts of 21 States/Union Territories of the
country.