A reduction in tobacco use can lead to a smaller tobacco industry, which in turn can affect, in both desirable and undesirable ways, the total number and distribution of employment in a nation or a region. For this reason, the public health community should examine the employment aspect of tobacco control measures when considering an effort to reduce tobacco use. The purpose of this examination is three-fold: provide the information needed by policy makers who are hesitant to make tobacco control efforts, provide a counterpoint to that of the tobacco industry, and formulate a more effective policy that takes into account those who are negatively affected by tobacco control. Despite the obvious threat of tobacco to human health, many governments, particularly in low-and middle-income countries, have not taken significant action to reduce tobacco's toll, partly due to concerns about the undesirable consequences on employment (World Bank, 1999). Governments in those countries fear that tobacco control measures create unemployment, an undesirable factor since job creation is an important element of any country's development and poverty alleviation strategies. The fear of the possibly negative impact on employment by a tobacco control policy is due to a lack of information. The employment impact of such a policy has only been studied in a few countries, mostly in developed countries. In theory, reduced tobacco use does not lead to a loss in the total number of jobs since money not spent on tobacco is used on other goods and services, thus creating additional jobs to offset the job loss in tobacco-related sectors. Examining the employment impact of reducing tobacco use provides the information needed for those policy makers concerned about imposing a negative employment impact due to a tobacco control policy.