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July 15, 2010

Philip Morris Using Child Labor in Kazak Tobacco Fields
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The tobacco giant Philip Morris is under scrutiny for using child labor
in remote areas of Kazakhstan. In a new report, Human Rights Watch says
it’s documented at least seventy-two cases of child workers harvesting
tobacco on farms that supply a Philip Morris-owned factory. The children
were as young as ten years old. Harvesting tobacco would be a
particularly dangerous task for children because of the exposure to high
levels of nicotine. Philip Morris says it’s adopted "sweeping changes"
to end child labor in its supply chain in response to the report’s
findings.



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