Tobacco manufacturing
Injury rate comparisons
Injury incidence rates (ie injuries per 100,000 workers per year)
for 2004/05-2006/07 are as follows
Tobacco manufacturing: 777
All manufacturing industry average: 1688
Main causes of injury
- Manual handling and lifting (42% of injuries) - from handling
tobacco bales, heavy or awkward loads or sharp edges
- Slips and trips (18% of injuries) - mostly slips on wet or
tobacco dust contaminated floors also tripping over
obstructions
- Machinery (12% of injuries) - for example during maintenance
and blockage cleaning on cigarette making, pack filling or pack
palletising machines, also conveyor accidents
- Being struck by objects (11% of injuries) - eg by
pedestrian trucks, falling packages and hand tools
- Falls from height (7% of injuries) - eg from tops of
plant/equipment during cleaning, stairs, ladders and work
platforms
- Striking against fixed and moveable objects (5% of injuries)
- eg machinery, stationary vehicles
- Transport (only 2% of injuries, but these are frequently
serious injuries) - mostly involving fork lift trucks
- Exposure to harmful substances - eg cleaning fluids
Possible occupational ill health risks
- Musculoskeletal injury from manual handling tobacco bales,
boxes, pedestrian trucks etc
- Work-related upper limb disorders (WRULDs), eg from loading
of non-palletised goods, repetitive sorting/packing work
- Noise induced hearing loss from noisy machines, eg
processing and packaging machinery
- Respiratory sensitisation from tobacco dust
- Health effects from handling tobacco and its nicotine
content
- Occupational dermatitis from handling cleaning solutions etc
The Tobacco Manufacturers' Association (TMA)
The TMA is the trade association for those companies which manufacture
tobacco products in the UK.
Manufacturing is concentrated in Merseyside, the Midlands, the
North East, South Wales and Northern Ireland. There are around
7,000 employees (in 2003) involved in tobacco manufacture.
The contact address for the TMA is:
The Tobacco Manufacturers' Association
55 Tufton Street
London SW1P 3QL
Email: information@the-tma.org.uk
Industry specific guidance
Safety managers of companies within the TMA meet to discuss
health and safety issues and the TMA has produced safety guidance,
eg on packing containers with unpalletised goods.
