Teens of the Tobacco Fields

The United States government and tobacco companies are failing to protect teenage children from hazardous work in tobacco farming. Human Rights Watch documented the harm caused to 16- and 17-year-olds who work long hours as hired laborers on US tobacco farms, exposed to nicotine, toxic pesticides, and extreme heat. Nearly all of the teenagers interviewed suffered symptoms consistent with acute nicotine poisoning – nausea, vomiting, headaches, or dizziness – while working on tobacco farms.