In response to an article published last week in Al-Akhbar newspaper, the Regie Libanaise des Tabacs et Tombacs affirmed that its contributions to projects in tobacco-growing villages are legal and aim to support farmers’ return to their villages, helping them remain “steadfast on their land.”
Below is the Regie’s response:
In exercise of the right of reply stipulated in the Publications Law, and in response to the article published in Al-Akhbar newspaper on November 1, 2025, the Regie Libanaise des Tabacs et Tombacs wishes to clarify the following:
- Article 32 of the 2020 Budget Law prohibits public administrations and institutions from providing aid or contributions outside the scope of their mandate. However, agricultural activities related to tobacco cultivation by farmers in villages fall squarely within the core mandate of the Regie and form part of its exclusive duties set forth in the applicable laws and regulations. Therefore, expenditures pertaining to such activities are explicitly excluded from the aforementioned prohibition
.
- In this regard, the Regie submitted to His Excellency the Minister of Finance a proposal to contribute to the implementation of agricultural projects in destroyed tobacco-growing villages in southern Lebanon. These projects include, among others, the construction of irrigation canals and water ponds, in collaboration with municipalities. Such initiatives help provide the necessary infrastructure for farmers to return to their villages and remain steadfast on their land, while also improving the quality of the tobacco delivered to the Regie.
- Therefore, the Regie affirms that the claim of an alleged controversy regarding these contributions is unfounded: first, they are entirely legal; second, they serve humanitarian and national purposes and aim to support the residents of villages that were destroyed during the Israeli war on Lebanon; and third, they yield economic benefits, as they further enhance the quality of the products of an institution that already contributes significantly to the state treasury.