Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Subcommittee on Agricultural Production, Marketing, and Stabilization of Prices
Methodology -- I. Tobacco farming in the United States -- II. Child tobacco workers in the United States -- III. Health and safety -- IV. Hours, wages, and education -- V. International legal standards -- VI. Obligations of the US government to protect child farmworkers -- VII. Responsibilities of businesses purchasing tobacco in the United States -- VIII. Recommendations -- Acknowledgments.
This report considers the biological and behavioral mechanisms that may underlie the pathogenicity of tobacco smoke. Many Surgeon General's reports have considered research findings on mechanisms in assessing the biological plausibility of associations observed in epidemiologic studies. Mechanisms of disease are important because they may provide plausibility, which is one of the guideline criteria for assessing evidence on causation. This report specifically reviews the evidence on the potential mechanisms by which smoking causes diseases and considers whether a mechanism is likely to be operative in the production of human disease by tobacco smoke. This evidence is relevant to understanding how smoking causes disease, to identifying those who may be particularly susceptible, and to assessing the potential risks of tobacco products.
There is no doubt that smoking is damaging global health on an unprecedented scale. However, there is continuing debate on the economics of tobacco control, including the costs and consequences of tobacco control policies. This book aims to fill the analytic gap around this debate. This book brings together a set of critical reviews of the current status of knowledge on tobacco control. While the focus is on the needs of low-income and middle-income countries, the analyses are relevant globally. The book examines tobacco use and its consequences including new analyses of welfare issues in tobacco consumption, poverty and tobacco, and the rationale for government involvement . It provides an evidence-based review of policies to reduce demand including taxation, information, and regulation. It critically reviews supply-side issues such as trade and industry and farming issues, including new analyses on smuggling. It also discusses the impact of tobacco control programs on economies, including issues such as employment, tax revenue and welfare losses. It provides new evidence on the effectivemess and international action, including future research directions. A statistica; annex will contain information on where the reader can find data on tobacco consumption, prices, trade, employment and other items. The book is directed at academic economists and epidemiologists as well as technical staff within governments and international agencies. Students of economics, epidemiology and public policy will find this an excellent comprehensive introduction to economics of tobacco control.
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. Subcommittee on Agricultural Production, Marketing, and Stabilization of Prices
"Each year, children work on tobacco farms in the United States, where they are exposed to nicotine, toxic pesticides, and other dangers. The US government has failed to protect children from hazardous work in tobacco farming. Since 2014, some tobacco companies have prohibited the employment of children under 16 on farms from which they purchase tobacco. These policies are an important step forward, but they exclude 16 and 17-year-old children. This report is based on interviews with 26 children ages 16 and 17, as well as parents, health experts, and tobacco growers. It documents the dangers of tobacco farming for 16 and 17 year olds. Most teenage children interviewed suffered symptoms consistent with acute nicotine poisoning. Many also reported working in or near fields that were being sprayed with pesticides and becoming ill. Several tobacco companies prohibit children under 18 from many hazardous tobacco farming tasks, but none have policies sufficient to protect all children from danger. Teenage children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of the work because their brains are still developing. Nicotine exposure during adolescence has been associated with mood disorders, and problems with memory, attention, impulse control, and cognition later in life. Human Rights Watch calls on tobacco companies and the US government and Congress to take urgent action to ban all children under 18 from hazardous work on tobacco farms"--Publisher's description.
The bulk of the world’s tobacco is produced in low- and middle-income countries. In order to dissuade these countries from implementing policies aimed at curbing tobacco consumption (such as increased taxes, health warnings, advertising bans and smoke-free environments), the tobacco industry claims that tobacco farmers will be negatively affected and that no viable, sustainable alternatives exist. This book, based on original research from three continents, exposes the myths behind these claims.